Light of Christmas
by 2theSky
Summary: There's a new face on the Grid, one that could change the future drastically for a certain Commander under General Tesler's rule. But will the future change for the better, or will it end in disaster? And just who is this stranger? (This is my Christmas gift to you all! :) )
1. Prologue

_-okay, so this story i've been waiting to do for a while. i just never knew how. and then i found the song "Light of Christmas" by Owl City and TobyMac and it kinda clicked. i've been working on it all year so it would be up for Christmastime! :)_

_anyone who knows me knows there are usually some lyrics thrown in here and there… and in this one, there might be ;)_

_so… here's where it all begins…_

* * *

Prologue: (Paige's POV)

I knew it.

I always knew it.

The Renegade was now a killer.

How it'd taken him this long to resort to it I didn't understand. It was a little random, that fact that he derezzed several guards, and more shockingly a civilian.

Several programs were hurt in the explosion, almost a dozen, and one or two were derezzed. With Pavel guarding the oh so lovely Purgos, I was sent here. And frankly, this was the far better of the two.

"There, and there," I heard a Black Guard say in reply to another guard's question; they were syncing little data chips into the already standing "wanted" posters for the Tron wannabe, updating them to match his newest actions. The red streams of warning code streaming around the Renegade's helmeted face made him seem more dark and dangerous. Actually, without them, he really didn't seem like that much of a threat.

I stopped glancing around and got back to work on an injured program's disc, rewriting their code to compensate for an almost lost arm; it was translucent, a see-through blue. He was in pain, and his circuits flickered from the lost of code and well, quite obviously pain.

"Here, just go easy for a while, and it should heal," I told him, feeling a little overwhelmed at the whole scenario.

His green eyes flashed in worry. "Is… is my arm always gonna be like this?" he asked, flexing his fingers like he was scared they'd derezz and leave him with only one good hand.

I sighed and nodded. "I'm sorry, but it's the best I could do."

The program nodded back and slowly climbed off his stretcher. "That's okay. Could be worse. Thank you, Commander."

I smiled slightly and waved him off. He seemed nice. "Seemed" being the key word in that statement. Looks were way too deceiving anymore. For all I knew, he could be the Renegade, if it wasn't for the fact that he'd been caught in the explosion… which the Renegade caused… and left…

Okay, now was not the time to be paranoid.

I looked over and saw another program, a girl with a few deep cuts on her upper body and face from getting hit with debris, handing over her disc to two medics, one of which handed her a vial of energy which she swallowed in one gulp. Without it, her circuits had only been a pale blue. Now the blue was joined by a pale green, a lighter shade of the medics' circuitry-

no.

Now was not the time to go back to the past. Now was most definitely not the time.

I sat down on one of the benches that had managed to survive the explosion and looked around at the damage. I noticed one of the medics had a program on a stretcher, apparently removing a piece of the explosion's aftermath which was imbedded in her leg. As the crowd around the scene looked on, mouths running with possible rumors, I became intently focused on the conversation the injured program was having with two others standing right by her as the one simply passed out.

"Zed! Is he okay?"

I almost laughed as I realized that this "Zed" (why did that name sound familiar?) had passed out as the medic removed the piece of whatever that wound up in his friend's leg. Another program beside them knelt down and laughed, then gently slapped his friend's face, trying to get him to stand. For some reason, all of the three programs looked all too familiar… Had I seen them on patrol? Or-

Beck.

The program helping his friend up was BECK.

I almost glared at him, remembering his attitude of subtle support towards the Grid's biggest nuisance, and then realized that now that one of his friends had been injured by the Renegade's actions…

maybe Beck would see things in a new light.

He looked up at the crowd, and I ducked my head, hoping he didn't recognize me. Even if he looked my way, though, he would. I'm pretty sure Tesler doesn't have any other commanders that are female, and I'm pretty sure everyone knows my face by now, after that last escapade, which the Renegade also caused. I glanced up at a "wanted" poster, glad my face wasn't on it.

I decided a glance in Beck's direction couldn't hurt. Even if he saw me, he'd probably just shrug it off, or build up feelings of hatred towards me. Either way, it couldn't hurt.

Beck was staring off into the crowd, and suddenly shock was written all over his face. Maybe he'd recognized someone?

His friend hit the ground again as Beck bolted, and I stood up, watching as his friend got up, shrugging at the one on the stretcher. An ambulance pulled up, blocking the view of the scene and as soon as it moved inside the yellow line of barrier, I scowled.

Beck was gone.

Something just wasn't right about this whole thing. Beck wasn't scared easily. And I knew that from only being around him a for few fractions out of a few cycles. The program had stopped a speeding train by rezzing up his lightcycle in the light trail the train followed, and then ran up the side of the train to avoid falling off a cliff to his death…

yeah, that wasn't normal, either.

But it was more like Beck to pull off that stunt than run.

I saw a flash of pale and darker blue and started sprinting as it turned down an alley way. That was Beck! He must've pushed his way through the crowd. How-

Nevermind. Not the time for questions.

Beck was flying. He was way too fast to match speed with, and I found myself stopping at one point to get my breath back. Where'd he learn to run this fast?! Maybe it was something he'd picked up after being thrown into the games? Or-

I gasped as in front of me- well, a good distance in front of me- a car slammed on the brakes, screeching filling the air. I saw Beck, still running like his life depended on it, hit the car, and I gasped, telling myself it was part of being a medic, that I was not gasping in concern for him. I was just… thinking of the… possible injuries that he- oh who was I kidding?!

Beck rolled up onto the windshield, then down off the hood and landed on the ground, quickly pushing himself up and saying something in response to the driver's shout of, "That wasn't my fault!" that looked an awful lot like, "I'm fine."

Fine?! He just got hit by a speeding car, and he's running full tilt again! He had to be in pain from that. I shook my head and bolted, glad that the driver had enough sense to get back in his vehicle and drive away; I just hope it was at a sensible speed. Beck could've been derezzed!

But thankfully he wasn't.

I followed Beck through several turns and stopped again, realizing as I gasped for air that he'd disappeared. Had he known I was tailing him? Probably not. But whoever he was running from must've had it out for him or something.

Could Beck be caught up in something… illegal?

No, that didn't sound like him. Beck was naive, but he was also smart enough to not get stuck in something screwed up.

So… why was he running?

I heard a gasp, a painful one like the owner of it couldn't' get their breath, and whirled around, listening intently for another.

And another came.

It was almost a wheeze. A very painful sounding wheeze. I turned to the left and managed to get my own breathing under control so I could listen.

Another wheeze.

"Left side," I mumbled, realizing that it was where the sound was truly coming from. The only thing to my left was a dark alley. Had Beck turned in here?

I stepped into the alley, tapping the side of my right leg, right by the ankle. A tiny black flashlight, with orange circuits, appeared, standard issue for the entire Black Guard and every member of CLU's army. I flipped it on and let the minimal light- I'm pretty sure the energy charge was going in it- pour into the darkness, trailing over the ground. I saw something flicker, without the light.

It was circuits.

A program?

Another flicker revealed this program wasn't Beck. I sighed. So I lost him. And with the way he was running… there was no telling where he'd gotten to by now.

But back to the program in front of me.

Instead of Beck's light blue and dark blue circuits this program had light blue and red ones. The design wasn't normal, definitely a little more… abstract? There wasn't a way to describe them. I flicked the light higher and caught sight of an orange and lime green dress, two layers, that were glowing. I frowned. No normal civilian displayed orange so vividly. A dress… a female.

I knelt down beside her, noticing a coat that did not glow, but was colored brightly with grey, black, and a brilliant white and neon yellow. Part of it looked burnt or ripped off. I flashed the light up higher, at her face, and saw her eyes closed, her hair styled a lot like mine, except longer and somewhat matted, like it hadn't been brushed or recoded in a while. I frowned and gently shook her shoulder.

"Hey," I said quietly, shaking her again as all my efforts got was a groan. I sighed. "Come on, please wake up." My frown twisted in thought. Why wasn't she waking up? She looked incredibly pale, now that I looked closer, and she was covered in scratches, a mix of blue code and pixels and red… red liquid. I knew that some programs had inner coding that matched their secondary circuit color, so that wasn't too far out of the ordinary. I tried waking her again.

No luck.

I brushed my brown hair out of my eyes and gently tapped the side of her face, this time resulting in a whimper and some mumbling that wasn't understandable. "Wake up," I tried being firmer, hoping that this time she'd-

"Wha- who- who are you?" she stammered, her eyes flying open. She jumped back, weakly, trying to shrink into the wall behind her.

I raised my hands, leaving the flashlight on the ground. "Relax. I'm not going to hurt you."

She stared at me, her grey eyes wide and empty. "Y-you light up," she pointed out.

That seemed obvious. All programs glowed. "So do you, program," I replied, frowning more than before; I was hoping my coding didn't rewrite to keep it permanent. She probably needed energy, and quite a lot of it, given how much her circuits were flickering and becoming fainter with each passing nanocycle. "What's you name?"

"N-name?" she looked down, scared, like she was searching for something.

"Um… designation?" I tried another option, hoping this brought something back.

She shook her head. "What… I don't know… I-I don't know m-my name," she finally whispered, coughing at the end, her breathing growing worse.

"Easy." I tried to calm her down, knowing that most of the coughing attack was brought on by stress and strain. She tried to get her breathing back under control, but it failed and her eyes rolled forward as she passed out, falling into my arms.

I gently turned her over. Something was wrong here. She was incredibly short, shorter than any program I'd ever seen. But as her back rested against my leg, I realized why she didn't remember her name.

No disc.

That meant…

A stray.

Great… just great.

* * *

_-whether you hated it, loved it, want to smack me upside the head for it- please let me know. i always appreciate ideas, thoughts, comments, criticism- whatever you've got. any typos are my fault, and i'm sorry :( trying to get all my homework done before tomorrow. hey, there's a method to my madness... okay, it's really just a lot of procrastination and headaches, but still! :P  
_

_and this'll be updated everyday, 25 chapters. one for every day from December 1st till December 25th! (if there are technical difficulties and i can't post one day, the next day will be a double update.)_

_and... the poll on my profile hasn't closed, mainly because it's at a TIE! how...? idk. so i'm giving a day or two more, or until the tie is broken. and then i'll announce the results!  
_

_have an awesome day, guys, and God bless! :D_


	2. Part One - Light Me Up

(Paige's POV)

I don't know why.

I honestly don't know why.

But I went against every single code of my training as a soldier…

I'd brought the stray back to my room. Inside Tesler's base.

What was I thinking?! And how had nobody noticed? Bringing her in on my light cycle wasn't exactly inconspicuous…

And yet…

She groaned, twisting on my bed, as I was forced to cleanse each scratch or slash with energy. I'd heard in my medic training that this form of treatment stung pretty bad. I was a little upset over the fact I was hurting her, but that was buried under the fact that this particular program had no disc.

I could easily be derezzed for this. Tesler wouldn't think twice. Or I'd be thrown in the Games, and then derezzed later…

So the sooner I got her out of here, the better.

I started dabbing another scratch and her eyes shot open. They were still grey and overwhelmingly empty of everything, except fear.

They were filled with fear.

I smiled, hoping my own fear at what I was doing wasn't showing. "Sorry. I know it hurts, but it's the only way to-"

"Where am I?"

She sounded a little stronger, maybe because I'd forced a little energy down her throat and into her system. I picked up the glass of the glowing blue substance from the table by my bed and asked, "Are you thirsty?"

"What i-is that?" she asked softly, staring at the glass of energy like it was lethal.

"Energy," I answered bringing the glass a little closer to her. "You need to drink it to survive."

She still looked skeptical, but as I gently lifted her head and pressed the glass to her lips, she slowly swallowed the first mouthful, her eyes widened, and then she gulped it down. I had to pull the glass away, explaining that too much at a time- considering she'd been deprived of it- could kill her.

The program just shrugged, then winced. She looked around my room nervously, seeing the fact that there were no windows, the orange seams lighting up the walls, the tables and countertops and chairs rimmed in the Occupation's orange, and then my circuits. "You r-really like orange, huh?"

I smirked. "You could say that."

She laughed hoarsely. "Never seen s-so much orange before… or black," she stopped for a nanocycle to get her breath; just talking was taxing her.

I frowned. Time to address the issue of why I needed her out of here, preferably in the next cycle. "So…" I waved my one hand in the air as I fumbled for a way to start, "How do you feel?"

Not exactly what I'd wanted to say, but it was working!

She shrugged. "Just a little sore. Nothing I can't handle. But… why did you help me?"

"I don't know."

She frowned at that. "Okay, I d-don't even know your name, b-but if this is some inconvenience for you, then I c-can leave."

Even though the energy she'd just received was finally kicking in, she'd need another cycle of treatment before she could successfully walk out of here. "No, you need rest. And besides, you can't go anywhere else."

"Why?"

I paused before finally blurting out, "You're a stray."

She frowned at that. I caught something in her expression, something that resembled recognition. For a stray, she seemed to not have lost much in the area of, well, everything. The only thing she lacked was memories…

If she had a disc, that wouldn't be too hard to cover up.

The scratches on her body pulsed as the energy she consumed reached them, sparking more healing into them. I started talking again, my observations tucked away for now. "You don't have an identity disc-" I grabbed mine off my back and lit up the blade on the edge, and her eyes grew wide, "- and if you don't have one, you get a new one and you get repurposed, or you get derezzed."

She frowned. "But… that's not right. I don't e-even know word one of what you just said, a-and I can tell none of i-it's right!"

I nodded. Why was I going along with this, agreeing with this?! I was a soldier! Maybe because…

because it felt right to?

I'd never liked the idea of repurposing; if a program wants to join the army, then let them do it by choice, not force. "I'll explain later. But let's just say that you're not incredibly safe here. It's-"

"My presence is putting you in danger." She was pretty forward. Were strays ever like this? "I'll leave as soon as I can, disc or not. I p-promise." She broke off into a cough and I grabbed the glass of energy, hoping to get her to drink a little more of it, that way it would soothe her now raw throat. She sighed as soon as she'd swallowed some more of it. As soon as the energy had pulsed through her system just nanocycles later, she closed her eyes.

In sleep mode.

I frowned, standing up and starting to pace. There was something strange about her… like she knew a lot more than a stray was supposed to. Her vocabulary was a little more complex than what a stray could wrap their wiped mind around.

What was going on?

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_\- thanks, Krisdaughter of Athena and mach5plus1 for reviewing! :)_


	3. Chapter 3

**(3rd person - memory #1)**

**"What? You didn't take 'em back behind the-"**

**"Just shut up! Oh my word… I'm never working with you guys on a project again!"**

**"Wait, Carson, I have a serious question. Carson!"**

* * *

…

* * *

(Switch to Paige's POV)

"Whoa…"

I turned around, seeing the stray fly off the bed, startled from her sleep cycle, standing and swaying. "What-"

"Who's… who's Carson?" She rubbed her forehead, closing her eyes and blinking after opening them, trying to stay balanced.

"Carson?" Did… did she just remember something? Strays were completely wiped clean! How?

She fell back on the bed, her purple-pink-grey hair falling in her eyes. "Carson… he sounds familiar?"

"He? You sure this… Carson… is a he? How do you know that?"

"I," she froze for a nanocycle, "I don't know. But I remember someone named Carson."

This… this wasn't normal…

was it?

…

ENTER SEARCH.

I stared at the screen flashing orange in front of me. The archives in Tesler's ship were massive, only rivaled by CLU's database. This had access to the Grid's history, to, well, anything and everything.

And I was going to make use of it.

"Stray programs," I mumbled, typing the words on the pop-up keypad that slid out of the seamless wall, greeting my fingertips with cool orange letters and circuits.

A stream of coding flowed down the screen.

PROCESSING… SEARCHING ARCHIVES…

I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for the search to end. Finally, the nanocycles dragging out, the resources were pooled and I ran my finger over the screen, wondering just how much more convoluted this cycle could possibly become.

SEARCH RESULTS FOR STRAY PROGRAMS:

STRAYS

IDENTITY DISC

RE-SYNCING IDENTITY DISC AFTER PARTIAL LOSS OF MEMORY

RE-SYNCING IDENTITY DISC AFTER COMPLETE LOSS OF MEMORY

"Come on," I hissed, glaring as the results were lacking, incredibly lacking. It wasn't here! Maybe… I shook my head and scrolled lower.

ISO STRAYS

"Really?!" I kept going.

PUNISHMENT FOR LOSS OF DISC

STRAY MEMORY

Maybe that last one…?

I tapped the two word answer and a file popped up; I truly hoped that Tesler wasn't monitoring the room right now.

"'Stray programs lose their memory upon prolonged time without syncing their disc. When this happens, all memory is lost,'" I mouthed the words in the read-out, trying to find my answer. "'Only re-syncing with their disc can return their memories, but some glitches can occur. However, if the disc is not re-synced, the program's entire memory database will be lost. No memories will remain and the program is subject for derezolution.'"

Wow…

But the program in my room remembered! She had something, something she was able to hold onto! What-

was she an ISO?

I glared at the screen in front of me at the thought. It was better safe than sorry, and Tesler would never have to know…

* * *

_-okay, so the bold at the top, if that got a little confusing, was a memory of… Character-Yet-To-Be-Named. the whole first part of the story will be in Paige's Point of View, but the flashbacks will be included like a 3rd person POV, that way there's some clarification._

_any typos... my fault, my bad, and i'm sorry :(_

_and i'm working on a cover image for this story, so that should be up in the next week or two, depending on how school works out. December's the busiest month of the year for me- practicing lots of church songs, making TONS of cookies, wrapping more presents than Santa's elves- and that's just the beginning! i left out homework!  
_

_update on the poll: it's closed! and the winner is... Tron! so, in February or March, a new multichapter fanfic's coming out! :) thanks for the votes!_

_and... on a side note: my bunny had surgery on its ear yesterday. Marshmallow's a big, fluffy sweetheart, and an escape artist. he's 8 years old, and when the vet dropped him off at my dad's work, everyone loved him. i've been worried since my dad took him to the vet 2 weeks ago for the check-up. the fluffy lop bunny wabbit says hi! :)_

_thanks, mach5plus1, Elhini Prime, Pirateweasel, emilynightshade89, and Xenon Rez for the reviews! :)_


	4. Chapter 4

(Paige's POV)

Asleep.

I quickly shut the door to my room, taking in the sight of the stray- or possible ISO- curled up on my bed, my orange blanket pulled tightly around her. She was laying on her stomach, and for the first time I noticed there were… letters on her jacket.

"T… O, B… Y…" I gave up trying to make out the rest of them. Apparently, they were scorched, burned off. "T - O - B - Y." I shook my head and tried again. "Toby."

Toby? That didn't sound like the designation for a female program.

But if she was an ISO…

No, not even Quorra and Ada's names were that strange.

Well, this… Toby… might be a threat.

I grabbed a tool out of my nightstand by my bed; it was a medic's tool that could repair damage if there was no disc present or if the disc was excessively damaged… I'd forgotten I had it until now. I quickly attacked the disc dock sized green circle onto Toby's disc dock as she twisted in her sleep. I started cutting my way through her coding. Some was still twisted in globs of glowing sequences, probably still healing.

As I dug further and further, nothing resembled Ada's disc in the slightest. But it wasn't quite Basic program coding. It was complex, but not ISO complex.

It was just off.

"Who are you?" I muttered, glancing at the program with a little less tension than before; at least she wasn't an ISO.

…

"Here."

I tossed a blanket-wrapped bundle at Toby, and she caught it quickly, looking like she would be derezzed if she didn't happen to catch it. Didn't she know she wouldn't be? "What-" she cleared her throat and stood up, much stronger than before, "is it?"

I watched as she unwrapped the blanket from the object and stared at it. "A disc," I explained. The thing was lying in an alley, completely abandoned. I kinda flipped through the contents and discovered that its owner was long-since derezzed in a gang fight. Now it was wiped clean and ready for its new owner.

Toby removed her coat, and I frowned, noticing little dashes across her lower arms. They were red and blue, pixelated. Injuries? She pressed the disc onto her back and her eyes flashed bright white before returning to their cloudy grey. She stared at me, the information I had left on the disc syncing; it was all Grid terms and history- that should help her out a little.

"Thank you."

I jumped, thinking that she still needed time to sync with the new data. "You're… you're welcome." She managed to get me to smile at her quiet voice.

"I can leave now, right? I know I'm a bother and it's not safe for you-"

Something inside me snapped at that. "No, you still…" why was I saying this?! Why was I coming up with excuses for her to stay?! "…still have to rest. Another cycle or two."

"But I can rest anywhere! I'm endangering you!"

Toby had a good point. But there was something about her that led me to believe with every bit of code in my body that one night on the streets would lead to her derezolution or capture. "Just rest for one more cycle," I said firmly. "You're still weak."

She sighed and laid down- on my floor. She was just in my bed before! Didn't she know-

"Commander, it's night now," she stated matter-of-factly, the information on the disc already at work. "And I've taken up your bed long enough. Besides," she smirked and rolled on her stomach, "the floor's not half bad."

I felt a little bad about Toby sleeping on the floor, but if she was willing to, then I wasn't going to question it. But after crawling into my bed, pulling the covers around me, and turning off the lights- voice activation- I realized that maybe it had been a little cold of me to just agree with her.

Was being in CLU's army really affecting me this much?

* * *

…

* * *

**(Switch to 3rd person - memory #2)**

**"… and then he decides to sneak through the woods behind our house like a crazy person and creep onto the golf course, and then gets behind some poor golfer with his trombone and WWWWHHHHRRRRMMMM! He just blows it right in their ear!"**

**"Oh… my… word… gotta stop laughing here. Mrs. Johnson, don't you ever stop him?"**

**"No, Jake. I'm just waiting for a mad golfer to chase him down our cul-de-sac, swinging their golf club at his head."**

**"Sean! Why-"**

**"It's just too fun, man! Like cats!"**

* * *

…

* * *

(Back to Paige's POV)

"Mrs. Johnson… Jake… Sean… who… who are they?"

I didn't move.

Toby was muttering. And she was saying names.

Judging from what had happened before, this was another memory or something of the like resurfacing in Toby. Three names this time- she knew three more names.

First, Carson.

And then Jake, Sean and Mrs… Mrs. Johnson. What kind of name was that last one anyways? I'd never heard of a designation like that before in my life!

"… trombone?" Toby muttered, twisting on the floor; I heard her disc click off the floor in the process. What was a trombone? Another designation? A city?

I shook my head, waiting for when she walked out my door and left me, the burden she brought lifting off my shoulders.

I buried my face in my pillow, the smell of smoke in parts of it from me being around many explosions, the smell of engine fluid from overseeing the repairs on Recognizers earlier, and…

what was THAT smell?!

It was… nice, different. It smelled like nothing I'd ever smelled, like happiness or something, even though that terminology sounded completely idiotic at the time. Was that from Toby sleeping here?

I gave up thinking, falling asleep and using my military training to drown any thoughts about Toby before they came to surface in my mind and keep me up any longer.

…

Gone.

I'd woken up.

I'd gotten out of bed.

I looked around.

And Toby was gone.

She left…

"She was still sick!" I ground out, hastily making my bed, not caring that I was pouring all of my fury into the task. But now that she was gone… no more chance of derezolution! But she was on the streets and could die-

I rolled my eyes. "Who cares?! Her choice to leav- but I did tell her she was endangering me…" I fell to the floor, my head in my hands. What was going on in my mind?! I'd just managed to lose a stray program that was a walking enigma and I couldn't decide whether to celebrate quietly in my head and move on - like a good soldier in the Occupation, or to worry and track her down - like I would've done in the past.

What was so difficult about this? She was gone! Out of my hair! I was free! I had my bed back… okay, that last one, looking back, was a lame and pompous thing to be thrilled over.

I finally came to a conclusion, nodding as I stood. "If she derezzes, it's not my fault. She left, and I don't have to worry about her anymore…" I nodded again, finally believing the cruel words I was forcing my mind to bow to, "…at all."

* * *

_-sorry for any typos; didn't get to check too well... blasted headache! :P_

_thanks, SarahSunshineTime and Krisdaughter of Athena for reviewing! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

**(3rd Person - memory #3)**

**"I love carpet. I love… desk."**

**"Are you just looking at things in the office and saying that you love them?"**

**"I love... Macbeth."**

**"Now are you just saying that because you heard me say it, or do you really love Macbeth?"**

**"I love Macbeth! I LOVE MACBETH!"**

* * *

…

* * *

(Switch to Paige's POV)

I had managed to forget about Toby for an entire cycle.

I forgot about her when I was ordered to supervise the new tanks coming in from Purgos.

I forgot about her when Pavel got on my nerves for him running into me as he left a meeting with Tesler.

I forgot about her when reports of activity- Renegade siting… yay, someone spotted the murderer- were coming in from Argon near the garage.

And I most definitely forgot about her when CLU's armada came flying in, turning the blue Argon skyline into an orange muddle.

Quite honestly, it looked frightening.

And that was exactly how it seemed it should look; this was CLU, after all. This was to instill fear into any rebels, RENEGADES, who dared to challenge him at all.

But as soon as I walked back into my room at the end of the hectic cycle, Toby returned to memory.

She was out on her own now, so why did I care? I had nothing to worry about.

And yet I-

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

The ship's voice cut my thoughts off with a jump and I quickly ran from my room- like regulation- and down a series of hallways as soldiers pushed past, saying something about it possibly being the Renegade. I clenched my jaw. If it was him... I'd rip him to shreds personally, regardless of CLU's command to bring in the radical alive.

"...check the engine room! He was headed that way!" Pavel screeched, his voice making my ears want to crumble to bits. I rolled my eyes and kept going towards the throne room, which CLU had now claimed as his, Dyson standing pompously at his side. Dyson was a jerk, and there was no better way to say it. There were a lot of other ways... but I don't feel like repeating them.

I reached the throne room and before I could step through the automatic door, which I often wished to derezz more times than I can count, I heard Dyson's incredibly feminine shriek of "USER! SEIZE HIM!"

User...?! The Renegade wasn't a User... right?

Right?!

The door finally slid open with a click and I gasped upon the sight.

Dyson was leaning on CLU's chair, a gash down his arm which was glowing bright orange. He was pointing at the Renegade who was on the floor, and a robed and helmeted figure knelt over him, running their hands over his mask where a hole was shattered in the black covering. The hole, which only showed his forehead, was closing rapidly, and Dyson, his mask shattered off and laying scattered across the floor, was shaking in anger. I noticed another nasty slice down his leg and ankle; so that's why he wasn't fighting.

I tackled the robed figure before they could keep closing the hole in the mask and before we hit the ground in a jumble I realized this was the User! I slammed their head into the floor as we landed, panting at the exertion of running all the way here and jumping a Renegade sympathizer.

"Paige! I-"

"Quiet, User!" Dyson cut them off, limping over and kicking the Renegade in the side as he tried to stand. The white suited and so-called hero fell on his stomach, gasping. "Who are you?!"

The User growled and punched me in the face, standing quickly. They swayed slightly. "Who are YOU?" they spat at Dyson, and I could easily picture them glaring behind their mask as they dodged my disc coming at their face.

"CLU's second in command, Dyson," Dyson ground out, joining me in trying to subdue the User; I wasn't aiming for a kill shot. Just for some intimidation.

"How fitting- you're named after a stinkin' vacuum cleaner!" they declared sarcastically, swinging around by the Renegade and quickly pulling him from his knees to his feet. They both drew their discs and let them fly, the Renegade's hitting mine as it started its path towards my stomach and the User's slicing into Dyson's leg and adding to the cut already there.

Dyson grabbed the User by their shoulders and they rolled across the floor as he tackled them, causing them to cry out as their unprotected disc dock hit the floor harshly. "Shut up!" he screamed in their face. The User flinched, and I paused for a nanocycle to try to understand why. I quickly stopped, however, as the Renegade attempted to kick me in the side.

"Hah, you even sound like a vacuum with that gravelly voice," the User hissed, punching Dyson's unprotected face.

Dyson's face grew red at that, but as he tried to take out the User with the blade of his disc, the User grabbed his wrist and suddenly Dyson dropped in a heap on top of them, unconscious. I glared at them, wishing I could tell if they were a guy or a girl; the robe made it impossible!

I regretted not focusing on the fight again as the Renegade's fist hit my jaw and I crumpled to the floor, stunned. The User crawled out from under Dyson, but not without their robe slipping open enough to reveal a dress-

a very familiar orange and vibrant green dress.

Toby... was a User?!

Oh, this just made things a whole lot worse...

As the two ran out, Toby hesitated and sighed, and I glared at her as she shrugged, running off. Had that been some sort of silent apology? If so, it was pathetic!

But if she'd been vocal about it, she'd probably say my name, and as guards rushed in, immediately tracking the two troublemakers, I was grateful for that much.

"She..." I shook my head as I stood up, rubbing my jaw. It would be fine, just sore for a nanocycle or two at most.

Toby was truly my enemy now.

A User...

* * *

_-in case anyone caught this, Toby's 3rd memory is based off the Anchorman scene with the lamp and all that ;) i have never seen Anchorman though- the memory is based on one of the English projects for Macbeth in my class. needless to say, it was hilarious XD_

_thanks for the reviews so far, guys! :) God bless! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

(Paige's POV)

An entire cycle went by.

The Games in the Coliseum went on without incident. No rebels to challenge CLU as he occupied General Tesler's usual spot.

The patrols picked up a few programs, but none for anything outside of minor scuffles or resisting CLU's newest Renegade capturing idea- stationing soldiers to check discs at every station, every club, and every exit out of the city, excluding the outlands. No one in their right mind rode through the outlands for an offroad adventure. That was flat out suicidal.

Basically, a cycle without a single hitch.

Curfew had just started. I sat on my bed, too worked up to sleep. These were days where things just went so smoothly I fell asleep at night from pure boredom.

So why wasn't I sleeping?!

One word:

TOBY.

She was a User!

"I can't believe…" I groaned and threw my head in my hands. Toby was so innocent-seeming! But she had power unlike any program, even an ISO- she was building code, probably without any thought whatsoever to what she was doing! She had repaired the Renegade's shattered helmet… that only made it worse.

Toby was a User.

Toby still had amnesia.

Toby was aiding the Renegade.

And she was out on her own.

I sighed, flopping back on my bed as a headache started pounding in my temples. How did I ever get mixed up in this?!

Oh right…

"I just HAD to be the nice guy!" I muttered angrily. "Help the hurt program, drag them back HERE, give them the benefit of the doubt! And look where it got me…"

* * *

...

* * *

**(Switch to 3rd Person - memory # 4)**

**"What did you do?!"**

**"Nothing! The cup was covered in d-dish liquid and it slipped-"**

**"You could've held onto it better! I can't believe you managed to break another one…"**

* * *

...

* * *

(Switch to Paige's POV)

"Attention, programs…"

Tesler was holding a Public Service Announcement in the Coliseum, under CLU's orders. Usually, we were all briefed on what was to be said. But no one had approached the soldiers guarding the perimeter, nor me or Pavel.

What was happening?

"The Renegade has continued his chaos-creating spree across our grand metropolis," Tesler began, already confusing me; wasn't this supposed to be about the stupid Renegade and his bit-brained schemes?! "But today we ask you to focus on a new threat."

A murmur swept over the crowds below us. Standing in the balcony was supposed to make us more intimidating, but honestly, was that the best attic? I mean, here I was, serving CLU purely because his forces and mission to save the Grid had saved me. Maybe programs didn't need so much fear instilled in them… or did they?

Tesler cleared his throat, the mumbling below us which had turned into a dull buzzing turning into silence the nanocycle he did it. "This new threat… is a User," he spat the last word out. "And she must be stopped."

A platform appeared in the center of the arena and a massive screen rezzed up from it, Toby's masked picture appearing. The robe in the picture covered her dress and circuits entirely; wasn't that just convenient? Her mask betrayed no lines- it was a seamless black.

"She possesses power, much power," Tesler ground out, his fists glowing in fury behind his cloak so only Pavel and I could see them. "And she can destroy us all. If you know anything, turn her in. If you are found harboring this outlaw, you will be derezzed publicly. If she is turned in… though," he snickered at the thought, "no reward should be needed- your loyalty and duty to CLU should be reward enough- when she is turned in, all curfews will be lifted."

A cheer echoed through the Coliseum, the crowd roaring at that.

And I couldn't blame them.

Doing away with the curfew was quite the reward… and quite lenient. But these programs had done nothing wrong to deserve it. It was only still in place because the Renegade refused to turn himself in. How could he live with himself? A murderer, a thief, a liar, a-

Beck.

I spotted Beck in the crowd, standing by his friends. None of them looked too happy… did they support the Renegade? Or were they hiding Toby? No, anyone hiding Toby would look scared. They looked ticked. Did they want this threat to run free?

As I watched, the green and pale blue circuited program on Beck's left smirked, said something, and Beck and the girl with bright blue hair on Beck's right laughed. Maybe they were just thinking about the whole thing. That was entirely possible.

The girl then said something and punched Beck in the shoulder. He laughed again, rolling his eyes and saying something in response that made his friends laugh ever harder. What were they talking about that was so hilarious?

Oh well. They couldn't be harboring Toby- none of them looked stupid enough to.

But where was she?

Maybe she'd just turn herself in… if she'd seen this announcement, she might just do it…

No, she wouldn't. I knew deep down she wouldn't.

And something told me she never would be caught.

* * *

_-sorry for any mistakes; i'm super busy this weekend, and had about five minutes to proof this. sorry :(_

_thanks, Krisdaughter of Athena, mach5plus1, Elhini Prime, and Xenon Rez for the reviews!_


	7. Chapter 7

(Paige's POV)

What was happening?!

The last two cycles had gone on without any sightings of the Renegade. That was good. But the thing that was bugging me was the fact that there had been four gang fights, and innocent programs caught in the crossfire, who should've derezzed, were found after each fight, perfectly fine and entirely healed.

Toby…

It had to be Toby! She was popping up everywhere and anywhere possible. That was sixteen programs she'd healed… sixteen that would've died and crumbled to bits before medics could've made it. Sixteen that would've lost all chance at another cycle. Sixteen…

Impressive. I had to give her that much.

I was back in my room, sighing at the headache I was getting. Between dealing with CLU and trying to keep one eye open at all times because of the ever ruthless Pavel and the fact that I had collaborated with a User, I was exhausted.

CLU had stepped up all patrols in the city. Soldiers were everywhere, scanning discs and searching vehicles, rooting through merchandise shipments and racing through the streets, trying to trace anything related to the Renegade.

"And…" I shook my head at my mirror, trying to massage my temples and get the throbbing to stop. "… they found nothing."

Nothing.

And nothing wasn't good. It wasn't perfection.

And CLU wanted perfection…

But this was impossible! There was no way to find someone like this; well, there was, but CLU's ideas weren't working.

"How is he evading us?" I muttered. "Every store has guards to check discs, every road out of Argon is a checkpoint, there's not way he's-"

unless he'd left Argon just in time.

"Great." I abandoned my reflection, noticing before I did so that my skin was a little lighter than usual. Sign of exhaustion. But there was no time for sleep! I had to be on a night patrol shortly, and while I was on it, I could hope for the chance that CLU would give me the cycle following the patrol off. But that hope would all go to waste- I already knew that much.

Hope… huh. Hope was something I rarely had, because it always blew up in my face-

hoping the ISOs would leave the hospital in peace.

hoping my friends maybe survived the hospital massacre.

hoping the Renegade would drop dead and derezz… the jerk that he was.

hoping Pavel would fall down a deep hole in the middle of the outlands.

Hope only worked on incredibly rare occasions.

Hope was imperfect and flawed, and I had no use for it.

* * *

…

* * *

**(Switch to 3rd Person - memory #5)**

**"So, are you gonna flip this car like your other one?"**

**"No! And the only reason I flipped it was because I stinking drifted!"**

**"Yeah, sure… five of us in your car-"**

**"truck-"**

**"-and you better not flip it! Or take it through two telephone poles again!"**

**"Oh, so you're saying it would be bad if I drove like THIS?"**

**"Frederick James! Two hands on the wheel! I don't think I'll live through this!"**

* * *

…

* * *

(Switch to Paige's POV)

Patrol had been entirely worthless.

There was no Renegade. There was no Toby.

There were a handful of curfew breakers- one dealing in Purgos' illegal market, which was a good bust- who were immediately shipped to the Games.

But there was nothing.

"Nothing!" I muttered, storming back to my room. I didn't care if CLU was watching; I could've cared less about perfection at the moment. "There's nothing!"

That's all we had.

I should've just put Toby out of her misery in that alley. But no, I had to be the nice guy! Now she's a wanted criminal! And if anyone checks my disc…

What have I done?

I stopped in the hallway, hesitating before pressing the little orange keypad that brought the elevator down. Nothing was going right.

And there was absolutely no point in hoping it would go right.

* * *

…

* * *

**(Switch to 3rd Person - memory #6)**

**"Hey, how was it riding with Fred?"**

**"Do you wanna know, Casey?"**

**"HE TOOK HIS HANDS OFF THE WHEEL!"**

**"Oh come on, we didn't crash!"**

**"See, Sean's defending me!"**

**"He's a crazy cat dude! Honestly…"**

**"You forgot to insert the 'awesome' there, Annie. I am awesome."**

**"Guys… ugh… I don't know how I have a boyfriend!"**

**"None of us do either, Annie. Not. One. Of. Us."**

* * *

_-this fanfic seems to be focusing a lot on Paige, huh? sorry to say this, but i'm not really gonna be bringing in Beck too much. he's not really going to drive the story along in the right way. and Paige has a thing or two to learn before this is over, so… ;)_

_any mistakes... you guys know the drill by now :(_

_thanks, Pirateweasel, for reviewing! :)_


	8. Part Two - I Finally Figured Out

("Toby's" POV)

I curled in a ball in the middle of an alley, wrapping my cloak around me. It was cold here! But no one else really seemed bothered by it. Why was it just me?

I was the only one who could, I guess this was a right term, repair damaged code with my bare hands.

And according to the crazy guys in charge of this joint- dictator, anyone?- I was a User. What did that mean? Did Users repair code on random vigilantes who stupidly decked out in all white? That was asking to get shot at! At least I hid my neon dress under a black cloak.

But where was I? Argon, yeah I got that. And got that.

And got that.

But this whacko world was flat out insane! These poor people! Wait… they were programs; they weren't people! What were people?

I sighed and let my helmet slip over my face, hoping it didn't have a stinking glare and catch the light of any flashy buildings. Times Square didn't light up like this! It-

I groaned, uncurling from my ball- which I found to be a strangely comforting position- and grabbed the sides of my helmeted head. "Not again!" I whispered, feeling pain in my head. The last few times this had happened, I could hear voices and names and words and it just didn't make any sense!

The pain got worse and I finally gave up fighting it. Everything went black and I passed out.

* * *

...

* * *

**(Switch to 3rd Person - Memory #7)**

**"What? You didn't take 'em back behind the-"**

**"Just shut up! Oh my word… I'm never working with you guys on a project again!"**

**"Wait, Carson, I have a serious question. Carson!"**

**"Fine…"**

**"You show them the toy truck out back? You know…"**

**"For the love of all that's holy in life! I was just waiting for ice cream, not hitting on a bus full of twelve year old softball players! I hate you guys!"**

**"You don't mean that-"**

**"No, but I'm kinda ticked off!"**

**"So, anyways, as the bus is leaving the ice cream place, the girls start waving to him, and the one looks at me and well-"**

**"They were waving at all of us, Brandon!"**

**"No they were making eye contact with you."**

**"Hayden, I thought I told you to shut up! Honest, Mrs. Johnson, this DID NOT HAPPEN. These guys decided to take a hike down to Martin's because the line was too long-"**

**"And you decided to stay behind with the twelve year olds-"**

**"-'cause they have no patience, and as soon as they left to pick up Ben and Jerry's, the line cleared up!"**

**"Yeah, just you and those g-"**

**"And you guys! You come back and start joking around because I decide to be sensible and not blow my money on stupid Ben and Jerry's-"**

**"And we brought back Snickers and ice cream, and this nutjob chooses Snickers!"**

**"Like I'd want raspberry ice cream! What kind of person likes raspberry ice cream?!"**

**"You ditched ice cream for Snickers!"**

**"You-"**

**"Everyone, settle down. Carson, I believe you…"**

**"Thanks, Mrs. Johnson-"**

**"…even though I have no idea what you just said for most of that."**

* * *

…

* * *

(Switch to "Toby's" POV)

I opened my eyes, seeing a grey tint to the world. It was still before curfew, I noticed, because a program went running past the alley with roughly a dozen guards on their tail. "Shoulda worn black, dude," I muttered, sitting up. The passing out bit of regaining my memories was annoying. I wound up with a headache after each one, or it made an already-there headache much worse.

As I sat up, I felt sick. I quickly derezzed my helmet and threw up. I'd never seen a program do that. Was this only a User thing?

"At least," I gasped as I stopped heaving after a few minutes- no one had ever said "minutes"; they said "nanocycle" or something sci-fi like that- and fell back against the wall of the building behind me, wiping my lips and swallowing painfully around the taste, "looking at it doesn't make me wanna hurl again." I'd only had energy, which was like Gatorade- what was Gatorade?! Maybe a drink?- and it was a glowing blue, even when it came back up.

Weird…

I closed my eyes, thinking I could catch my breath for a minute, or whatever a minute was around here. But as I did, there was a shout of, "Halt, Renegade!" and a copper flew overhead. I quickly reactivated my helmet and grabbed my disc. It wasn't a reflex. I'd seen other programs do it, and apparently it was supposed to intimidate. Swaying as I stood, the Renegade suddenly appeared int the alley with me, staring at me a second before saying, "You! You're the User-"

"And you're a sitting duck. Glad we're acquainted," I replied hastily as the copper focused on the alley, shining a light down on us. Soldiers appeared at the only way out of the alley. Oh joy. "Any ideas?" I asked quietly as the Renegade drew his disc, activating it.

"Yeah. Can you fight?"

I stared at him like he'd lost it, wishing he could see my face. "Uh, no?!"

"Okay, just stand back and let me handle this."

I heard the sigh beforehand and something inside me clicked. And it wasn't a good click. I felt like a massive weight had just been dumped on my shoulders. It wasn't quite sadness. It was only a sigh. Why was I reacting like this?

I snapped back to reality- or whatever crazy place I was in- as the Renegade shoved me against a wall, jumping into a fight with… Paige.

Paige.

I really needed to tell her. I needed to tell her about the Occupation, about how they lied and killed uselessly. She wasn't like the rest of the soldiers or rulers around here; that disc she gave me had given me quite a bit of information. Oppression was the ruler around here. It was obvious! Paige had to be naive to miss it.

"Will you just give up?" she yelled at the Renegade, throwing him to the ground and straddling him, her disc at his neck and her free arm holding down one of his. Why did something about this look so awkward? This whole position they were in-

Another firebolt erupted in my head and I fell to my knees. This wasn't quite a memory. It was just like common knowledge-

Oh…

So THAT'S why this looked so weird.

"Uh," I waved a little to get Paige's attention. Thankfully, the three soldiers with her were standing at the end of the alley. "Hi. So, while you're probably enjoying holding a disc at this dude's neck, who I'm guessing is your nemesis or something like that, can you at least be standing or something? This position you're both in is just awkward."

Paige glared at me, but didn't move. I smirked behind my mask. She couldn't do thing one to me! It would give away that she'd helped me. Before anyone could blink, and before the Renegade could free himself, I threw my disc, watching as it ricocheted off the wall and almost took off Paige's head. I grabbed it as it soared toward me and she ducked.

And I kicked her in the face.

Somehow, I don't know how because it's a big blur, I pulled up the abominable snow man with a "T" made of squares on his chest, kicked another guard, and then watched as Mr. Whiteout knocked out Paige. We ran, and then everything was in focus again.

Well, partly in focus; my head was throbbing and I felt like throwing up again. I tripped on my own feet and fell. The Renegade, already ahead of me, didn't see me fall and kept going. I didn't blame him. I was too slow.

I couldn't fight, and I was too slow.

I'd annoyed him.

That was what made me feel down. I was an annoyance. I could tell.

But at least we'd gotten away.

I hurried into another alley and slumped down behind a pile of old energy canister crates as I saw Paige and a group of mindless lackeys in pursuit. They ran right past, and I sighed in relief.

But not without passing out again.

* * *

…

* * *

**(Switch back to 3rd Person - Memory #8)**

**"And so, Nathan Hale was a- am I distracting you guys by teaching like this?"**

**"Nope, not- not at all! Rachel, stop making me laugh!"**

**"I can't!"**

**"So… you won't be distracted if I use my Darth Vader lightsaber as the pointer?"**

**"You killed the batteries already, Mr. Dylon?!"**

**"I killed them four days after I got it!"**

**"That was over Christmas break!"**

**"And I enjoyed every minute of it, Zoey. Now- are you guys sure the mask isn't hurting your concentration? Kaijo, what do you think? Nevermind, she's laughing too hard."**

**"We- we all are, Mr. Dylon, or should I say Darth Vader?"**

**"Why are we not recording this?"**

**"Okay, that's it… the Darth Vader mask has to go-"**

**"No!"**

**"-but I will use the lightsaber as my pointer. Now, let's focus! Nathan Hale was…"**

* * *

_-sorry for any typos :(  
_

_thanks, Pirateweasel, Krisdaughter of Athena, and Panda Bear Lover 317 for the reviews! :)_


	9. Chapter 9

("Toby's" POV)

I hadn't moved in what felt like forever.

Something about the last memory attack had drained me completely. I felt sick. My arms and legs didn't want to cooperate- yay for me. And I was… hungry?

Hungry?

That was another word I knew that no one else around here did. The names I knew were weird around here. The words I knew didn't exist here. Everything I knew was out of place, big time out of place.

"I could seriously go for some pizza right now," I muttered, burying my face in my arms as I realized I'd said ANOTHER word I was unsure of. What was pizza? It sounded like good thing. And considering I was hungry- whatever that was aside from an ache that made me feel even more sick- it was probably something that could reverse hunger.

Pizza…

My head snapped up as I figured it out. Dough, tomato sauce, cheese, and then toppings.

The only problem with figuring it out?

I had no idea what anything used to make pizza was! The stuff all sounded familiar. Everything sounded familiar, but for all the peo- programs around me the words were completely meaningless.

I smirked, ignoring how that minor movement made me even more sick. "I still want that pizza," I said softly, hoping this curfew crap was gonna wrap up soon.

The Renegade hadn't shown up again. I hoped he was okay. The guy seemed nice, a lot nicer than the dudes in orange who I'd seen hauling programs away in droves.

The disc Paige had given me had lots of information on it… I could tell she'd removed the program's memories and not the knowledge of Argon and, what was it, the Grid? Yeah, that sounded right.

But there was something she hadn't managed to remove.

I didn't know what it was, but I could feel it. It was like a weight on my back that I knew shouldn't white be there. I reached back for my disc and activated it so a screen showed; that hadn't been too hard to figure out. The screen showed my memories in a circle of files, and I spun them around, seeing just how few there were.

Then below them there was the information on my disc that Paige hadn't erased. I could access that mentally. No need to open it up.

And under that…

a file.

I frowned and tapped it, feeling something inside me want to hesitate. But I didn't. I wanted to know who's disc this was, if possible. I wanted to know their take on the Renegade.

The holograms of files flickered off and left me with a picture of something. It was blurry at first, but lines of coding appeared across it, clearing it up.

It was of three programs, all male, and one of them was the Renegade.

An unmasked Renegade.

The three were standing side by side, the Renegade and a dark skinned program with white-ish (or was it grey? It was lighter, anyway) hair smiling. The Renegade-

unmasked.

Brown spiky hair, big brown eyes, and he kinda reminded me of Superman with that jawline. Superman…? Oh, yeah, superhero in a blue, yellow, and red suit. "Doubt they've heard of Clark Kent around here," I thought aloud, studying the picture more.

The dark program was taller than the Renegade. In fact, the other two programs in the shot, aside from the Renegade, were taller than him. And the other-

had the same "T" on his chest.

Their suits- the two with the "T" marking- were identical. What did that mean? Father and son? I doubted it. I hadn't seen anything resembling a family in the slightest around here. Maybe programs just magically appeared?

Focus!

I noticed the one suit was black, and the other white. And the program in the black "T" marked suit had his helmet removed. He wasn't quite smiling, but he wasn't straight-faced either. It was a Batman look… was Batman another hero? I stopped looking at the picture for a minute and remembered him quite clearly. "The new movies suck," I spat, remembering just how distorted Batman had become and returning to the picture a final time.

Wait a second! This guy was… Tron! His actions as head of security or whatever he'd been before were on my disc. He was supposed to be dead… right?

I smiled grimly and turned off the disc, just holding it in my hands for a while. It was another one of the Occupation's lies.

They weren't promoting order- they were promoting evil and chaos unknown.

They weren't helping programs- they were oppressing them left and right.

They weren't the good guys- they downright stunk.

And Tron was, by no means, dead.

I sighed and finally put my disc back, deciding it was time to move. Whoever's disc I wore on my back was a Renegade supporter, so much of one that he'd gotten the dude to take off the mask and get in a picture.

Paige hadn't seen that one coming.

I didn't even bother re-thinking who was better. The Renegade was fighting for freedom, and the Occupation was killing any chance of freedom.

I stood up slowly, wincing. I felt weak, too weak. Maybe I just needed to find some energy somewhere. But I couldn't! I was wanted… the second I stepped into the club a few streets over I'd be arrested or beheaded on the spot or something!

There was no way to get any energy.

Unless I stole it…

No, that was wrong.

As I walked, more like hobbled, I pulled my cloak around me more and made sure my mask hid my face. I wondered about Paige. Did she know of her leader's lies? About the merciless slaughter of ISOs? About the oppression? About… about all the stinking corruption in general?

She had to. She had-

I shook my head. It was obvious she didn't know. She was blind to it. Something had turned her into one of CLU's loyal lap-dogs, and it wasn't repurposing. What was it? What-

I fell to the ground as someone tackled me, the sick feeling I had multiplying. I was turned over, onto my back, roughly and pinned to the ground in another alley. I looked up and immediately had a bad feeling.

Two programs were holding me down, one my left arm and left leg and the other my right arm and right leg. They were masked, and I couldn't see any circuits on their suits as they laughed. It sounded like a laugh from the Joker. And I hated the Joker.

I shivered as the one made a move for my helmet with his hand, feeling around my neck. "No release," he growled. I could imagine him glaring at his buddy, mainly because I couldn't see either one of them. Why was this place so dark?

"Just derezz it," the other program snapped. I heard a disc activate and cringed. If they took my helmet off, they might just turn me in. Or worse. But for some reason, I couldn't quite figure out what that "worse" something was…

The guy held his disc right over my helmet, but didn't derezz it. Instead, he slapped it back on his back and said, "Let's wait. It's her. I can tell. But first…"

Oh, that did NOT sound good.

* * *

_-i honestly forgot what this chapter was about (give me a break- i wrote it in March!) and had no idea i'd used THAT program's disc in the storyline. sorry for any typos :(_

_no school today! yay! :D i have a ton of Christmas presents to work on; seriously, my bedroom looks like Santa's workshop.  
_

_thanks for the reviews, guys! :) i really appreciate them. God bless! :)_


	10. Chapter 10

("Toby's" POV)

One of the jerks- I wasn't sure which- above me started grabbing my cloak, trying to get it off me. I squirmed and kicked him somewhere, but in the dark I couldn't tell where. He grunted and mumbled something that sounded like, "Troublemaker, huh? Lucky for you I like a challenge."

That was it!

I twisted again and this time knew for sure I'd kicked one of them in the face.

"Idiot!" the one hissed. "You're supposed to be holding her still!"

"I can't if she's squirming!" the other shot back, trying to grab my leg as I kicked him again.

After struggling with them for what felt like forever, I was more drained than before and felt like passing out. I couldn't move because I was pinned.

Not liking this situation AT ALL.

As everything started turning black and the two programs laughed at how weak I was, no longer fighting them at all, a flash of white appeared and I cringed, waiting for something, anything. I felt the weight on my body disappear and I slowly sat up, seeing the poster boy for white-out and glowsticks.

Did the dude's suit have an "off" switch? Seriously, he was lit up brighter than a Christmas tree-

more new words! And I actually knew what they were! Great! Now… why didn't this glowstick happy land have any trees?

I felt someone pull me up from the ground and I swayed, focusing on the Renegade as he grabbed my arm. "You okay?"

I nodded, glancing over at the two unconscious programs who had almost… I shivered. That was a little too close.

And… white-out boy wasn't convinced. "When did you last have energy?"

"Um…" when did I? "I don't remember," I replied, hearing just how weak I was. "Is that bad?"

The renegade nodded. "Your circuits are flickering, which means you're really low on energy. We need to get you some."

I snorted at that. "Well let's just waltz into the club and ask for some. I'm sure they won't mind that we're both wanted by the Occupation. What could possibly go wrong?"

"You're really sarcastic when you're ready to pass out, you know that?" The Renegade laughed, shaking his head.

"Yeah, k-kinda aware…" He grabbed my arm as I nearly collapsed. "I feel like crap."

He was silent for a second. "'Crap?' What's that?"

Oh… another new word…

CRAP.

"I-" I did fall this time, and the Renegade grabbed me again, his one arm around my shoulders and the other under my legs. I was so tired… wait, where-

and I passed out again…

Shoot.

* * *

…

* * *

**(Switch to 3rd Person - Memory #9)**

**"So, are you gonna flip this car like your other one?"**

**"No! And the only reason I flipped it was because I stinking drifted!"**

**"Yeah, sure… five of us in your car-"**

**"truck-"**

**"-and you better not flip it! Or take it through two telephone poles again!"**

**"Oh, so you're saying it would be bad if I drove like THIS?"**

**"Frederick James! Two hands on the wheel! I don't think I'll live through this!"**

**"Let it go, let it go-"**

**"Really, Sean?"**

**"What? You got a grudge against 'Frozen' or something? What's wrong with you, Annie?! Come on, Kaijo, back me up on this."**

**"Sean's right. 'Frozen' rocks. Now let Fred focus on the road, will ya?"**

**"Sure, now… where was I? Oh, yeah… 'LET IT GO! LET IT GO! CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANYMORE!"**

* * *

…

* * *

(And back to "Toby's" POV)

Who… was… Kaijo?

That name sounded so familiar, more than any of the others. And what was up with, what was it… "Frozen"?

I groaned and sat up, rubbing my temples. My head was killing me! Stupid memory attacks.

"She's awake."

Ugh… I winced. Dull, grating, Darth Vader voice not helping my headache. "Somebody make Darth Vader shut up."

"Who's she talking about?" the voice was back.

"Not sure," came a second voice, who I recognized as the Renegade. I opened my eyes and saw him and another program, this one in all black with a few little lights on his suit- hey, now this guy knew how to not become a bullseye for the Occupation's cannons- standing side by side in an all white room. It was very bright, and the brightness wasn't helping my head any. "Are you alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Um… where am I? And I know who Glowstick Boy is- public enemy number one- but who are you?" I pointed at the dude in pure black.

"Glowstick Boy?" the one I pointed to snorted. "What's that mean?"

At least he got my sarcasm. "Seriously, you're running around looking like all of Times Square during New Year's Eve!"

"I'm lost." The Renegade helped me stand up and got onto another topic. "We had to take your helmet off to give you some energy. As a User, your body requires more to keep it functioning here. How do you feel now?"

I shrugged. "A little tired, but nothing out of the-" I fell to my knees and without any warning threw up. Man, it sure was weird puking up nothing but stuff that looked like glow stick goo. I knelt on the floor, my arms shaking as they held me up and glanced up at the Renegade and his yet-to-be-named pal. "Sorry a-about that," I managed to get out before I heaved again.

The Renegade said something that over the buzzing in my head sounded like, "Do Users usually do this?"

"No," I heard the tall, dark, and somewhat creepy guy say clearly. "I've never seen one do this."

I finally stopped barfing and with their help was pulled to my feet. I shook my head as they tried to get me to sit down. "No, I wanna clean that up."

"It's just energy," the dark program replied. "I'll get it."

"But-" before I could protest further, the two pushed me back onto the white medical looking slab thingy I was on before. My head spun and my vision blurred. What was happening to me?

I felt really bad about puking on their floor, but they didn't seem to mind. The Renegade sat by me, noticing as I grabbed the bed-table-thing for support as the world spun again and I bit back a dry heave. "What's wrong with you?" he asked softly.

I took a moment to get my vision to stop doubling. "I-I don't know… I don't remember."

"Don't…" he gulped, and with his voice modifier on, it sounded like the clank of a distant garbage chute. "Um… did you lose your disc?"

I nodded, not sure where this was going.

"Is the one you have now yours?"

I shook my head, still not sure where this whole thing was headed.

"How-"

"I had a little help in getting it," I said flatly, not mad at the Renegade, but I was sure he didn't want to know Paige had gotten the disc for me.

He nodded and left it go. "But… what is that?"

"What is what?"

"That- that thing," he gestured with his hands and it was pretty funny, "where all the energy you drank came back up out of your mouth."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at his gesturing. "It's called 'throwing up.'"

"It doesn't look fun."

"Trust me, it's not." I swallowed and tasted acid in my throat. "Do-"

Before I could even ask for a small glass of energy so I didn't use up all they probably had, the other guy walked in with a glass and said, "Drink this slowly."

I nodded my thanks and took a sip; it soothed my throat a lot. "This is just like Gatorade."

"Gator-what?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "A drink from where I'm from. It tastes a lot like this, but it doesn't glow."

"Users…" The other dude walked off and the Renegade shrugged, saying to excuse his friend.

Before I could say anything, I hurriedly sat the glass of energy, still mostly full, down and fell to the floor in pain.

Seriously?!

This was getting old!

* * *

…

* * *

**(Switch to 3rd Person (again…) - Memory #10)**

**"You're just a rebel! Everything I say, you say I'm wrong! I can't believe I have a daughter like you."**

**"Dad, I wasn't-"**

**"Don't have that attitude with me, young lady! I'm sick of you acting like you're spoiled! You think everyone should do everything for you- I can tell!"**

**"No, Dad, it's not like that!"**

**"YES IT IS! Maybe I SHOULD install those parent security programs on your computer-"**

**"But that'll block the site! You'll take away my friends! Please-"**

**"I. Don't. Care. You're on it too much, just wasting your life on the internet doing God only knows what!"**

**"… fine. I gotta go. I don't even care anymore, Dad."**

**"See? There you go again! With your stupid-"**

**"I gotta go- bus is here… I love you, you know."**

**"Whatever. I wish you were like your brother and sister."**

* * *

…

* * *

(Aaaaaaand back to "Toby's" POV)

I woke up alone.

And I woke up in tears.

The Renegade and his buddy were gone, at least from the room. I sat up slowly, wiping my face dry with my cloak.

What memory was that?

"I can't believe I have a daughter like you."

I felt my tears come back as the words flashed in my head. I was glad I couldn't see who was talking in the memories now. That had been yelling, mostly from one guy.

And the other person sounded-

"That was me…" I laid back down on the slab of a bed and pressed my hands over my face. "They were yelling at me."

I could only hope that was an occasional thing. People- Users- didn't yell all the time, right? Programs certainly didn't.

I laid there for a while, the memories, especially the newest one, playing like a broken record over and over in my head. The pain in my head was throbbing away, slowly. And I could feel how weak I still was.

The glass of energy, still at the same amount, laid on a pure white table that hadn't been there before. I sat up again, my body aching, and stood up.

And the world spun.

I grabbed my head, closing my eyes as I felt everything tilt. The pure white room spinning looked like a flushing toilet- oh yay, more new words- and the spinning didn't leave for a few minutes. When it did, I opened my eyes and tried walking. Okay, so I was back to normal.

For now.

I could only hope I hadn't been getting headaches or getting dizzy like this before I lost my disc. For all I knew, I'd been stuck in a cycle of pain and clamminess for forever! I grabbed the glass and, against the dark suited dude's warning, downed half in one shot. It felt good, and it stopped the nausea I had from getting worse.

I figured I'd be less of a bother to the Renegade if I just left. And the sooner, the better. Maybe I could take some energy with me…? Just this glass, though. I didn't want him to think I was a thief. Was I? I doubted it, but still, it was a possibility.

The glass was too tall to carry though. And the energy would spill right out. I frowned, then pressed my hands against the sides above where the energy was in the glass. If I could repair damaged code, didn't that also mean I could manipulate it as well?

One way to find out.

I pressed the glass, and sure enough, it bent inwards. I twisted the sides once they met, completely flattened against each other, over in a circle to close it off. I grinned. If I could do that, I could probably undo it as well. I slipped the energy into my jacket under my cloak and pulled up the hood, along with activating my helmet.

It was time to leave.

* * *

_-if there are any typos, i blame them on my exhaustion from making 40 dozen anise cookies yesterday... i don't think we've ever made that many- either that, or we never counted. and we still have to icing them. O_O_

_thanks, Krisdaughter of Athena for reviewing! :)_


	11. Chapter 11

_-welcome to the chapter of breakthroughs and chaos! there's gonna be some light shed on the subject (of who "Toby" is…) and there may or may not be some insanity later on… ;) but i gotta say that this will be a little intense, just slightly for, well, you'll see… just a warning. enjoy! :D_

* * *

**(3rd Person POV - Memory # 11)**

**"You looked in the same place four times and STILL didn't see it?!"**

**"I-I'm sorry! You said the cord was grey and bulky, not-"**

**"This is the cord! It wasn't that hard to find!"**

**"I-"**

**"First you don't listen, and now you can't see what's right in front of you…"**

**"… I'm sorry."**

* * *

…

* * *

(Switch to "Toby's" POV)

Away from the Renegade… and whoever creepy Darth Vader wannabe dude was. I hoped they weren't mad at me. I didn't need anymore enemies in this computer-landia.

No, more like computer-dystopia.

I was half asleep in another alley, almost reaching for the energy hidden in my coat. I could easily down the tiny bit of liquid, get my strength back, be-

"What am I thinking?" I hissed, slapping my own hand for no reason, except for the pain, which was keeping me awake. Awake was good. Awake meant staying alive, keeping my eyes open, avoiding anyone who was gonna stick a glowing frisbee thingy through my gut.

But awake was also tiring. And trying. And testing. And anything else I could think of that started with a stinking "T".

My wrists throbbed and burned again. What was that about? My wrists stung or ached or burned whenever they brushed against anything! And it was getting old… and they were marked up with red-blue scars.

Who had put those scars there? They were all older, probably accented by the Grid's weird coding system.

As I stared at my left wrist, I noticed something under my skin… moving. Twitching.

And it hurt!

I bit back a scream as the movement raced up my whole arm and I fell in a heap on the ground; it felt like I got hit by lightning. None of the memory attacks had been this bad! "Come on, just let me pass out," I begged quietly, thinking if I passed out the pain would be gone. I felt like I was being torn apart! How much longer-

And I finally passed out.

* * *

…

* * *

**(3rd Person POV - Memory # 12)**

**"Kaijo?"**

**"…"**

**"Kaijo."**

**"…"**

**"KAIJO!"**

**"Wha- oh, sorry… What were you saying, Mack?"**

**"I was asking you if you did your geometry homework. But considering you're kinda pale and dizzy, I don't thi- Kaijo, you didn't!"**

**"Didn't what?"**

**"You know what I mean! You promised you wouldn't!"**

**"Mack, I swear I didn't! I just couldn't sleep is all. You saw me bury those bla- those stupid things, anyways."**

**"Okay. But you look horrible."**

**"Thank you. It took staying up all night to achieve this level of deadness… there's a history test today… isn't there?"**

**"Yep."**

**"I'm screwed."**

**"Hey, no you're not. We'll study at lunch, I'll get you caught up-"**

**"Says the girl who's 10th in the class! Where am I? 57th! And you're just holding yourself back, taking classes with me…"**

**"You're in all honors, with me."**

**"You should be taking stuff you like, not tagging along with me to art and cooking class and journalism-"**

**"Slow down there, Flash! First of all, I like those classes! And second of all, we managed to get every class together, so we can enjoy our freshman year."**

**"Sure… tagging along with Killjoy is the perfect way to-"**

**"Shut up and stop calling yourself that! You're awesome! Look, how many days has it been since… you know?"**

**"… seventy-six."**

**"See? You're doing great. Almost to one hundred!"**

**"You said that last time, too… at ninety-four… in eighth grade. I don't know if I can-"**

**"Shut up with all the self doubt and look at me!"**

**"Okay…"**

**"You're not focused. You're swaying. Dude, you alright in that noggin of yours?"**

**"I think so. I just feel a little out of it."**

**"Whatever. Look at me."**

**"Okay…"**

**"You are awesome. YOU. Kaijo Kromko is awesome. Now, remember that and stop thinking negative crap, okay?"**

**"I'm trying, I really am… but you're the only one who thinks that."**

**"No I'm not. Big Guy Upstairs does, too, remember?"**

**"I meant the only person currently visible. I know He cares, but I feel like I'm just letting Him down, too… like everyone else-"**

**"Hey, come on. Just relax- no, I did NOT say to cry, Kaijo- and let's get our stuff and go to lunch okay? You just need some music or some really disgusting school food and you'll be fine, okay?"**

**"Okay… I'm really sor-"**

**"I thought I told you to stop saying that word!"**

**"I can't!"**

**"Oh well. Still Jesus Freaks together, huh?"**

**"Yeah. Now what's lunch again?"**

**"Bacon cheeseburger."**

**"You mean rubber and fake cheese slapped into a stale bun? These lunches can't be legal."**

**"There's the Kaijo we know and love!"**

* * *

…

* * *

**(Memory # 13)**

**"Okay, so you taped paper over the projector screen, you unplugged my mouse and hid it… and I can tell you're up to something else 'cause Kaijo's laughing her head off back there!"**

**"Why would that mean-"**

**"Kaijo can't hide anything!"**

**"She managed to help the school's newspaper team make a COMPLETE April Fool's Day paper! By the way Kaijo, thanks for making me freak out over the fact that the computers were getting taken out of the school!"**

**"Anytime."**

* * *

...

* * *

**(Memory # 14)**

**"Ryder called this morning."**

**"Oh? How is he?"  
**

**"He's good. So is Amanda. The college finally agreed to accept the grants and scholarships for sports!"**

**"That's great! Now if only Kaijo would be as hard-working as them-"**

**"Matt, that's not-"**

**"Claire, we both know the truth about her. She's stuck in her own little world, on that computer of hers' and doesn't even try! Her grades…"**

**"All B's."**

**"Well, at least there are no C's… She's not even taking part in a sport like Ryder and Amanda."**

**"She is slower than them… they were in AP courses their junior year."**

**"Hah, Kaijo probably doesn't know what 'AP' even means."**

**"Should we make her try out for something? Maybe a winter sport?"**

**"No, she'll just whine about it. That's all she ever does!"**

**"… and they wonder why I never leave my room…"**

**"Matt, did you hear footsteps?"**

**"No, why?"**

**"I thought I heard someone on the stairs… Maybe it's just the dishwasher."**

**"Maybe. Hey, did you hear about the sexting case in the district?"**

**"A little. A teacher's involved?"**

**"Yes, and he…"**

* * *

…

* * *

("Toby's" POV - the quotes around "Toby" are about to be explained! finally! :) )

"Good God, what in the world happened to my blasted head?!" I groaned, not even bothering to sit up.

This memory attack had been the worst… flashes of memories- just bits of echoing words in blackness- and some longer memories shuffled in randomly. What had happened? Why was I feeling like I'd gotten tackled during gym class agai-

Gym class.

Illegal cheeseburgers.

Mack.

Cooking.

Art 1 and 2.

Ryder.

Amanda.

AP.

Seventy-six days…

I remembered!

I grinned and felt tears come streaming down my face under my helmet. I finally had my memory back! I lay there, feeling my muscles twitch now and again in agony as I pieced it all together, making sure it was all there.

I was Kaijo Kromko, fifteen years old and a freshman at Lincoln High in… in Virginia. Yeah, that was right. Why was it hurting so much to just think?! Ugh... My best friend was Mackenzie Parker, and her birthday was the same as mine, November eleventh. She was usually the only one who remembered…

My parents forgot it this year.

And who could blame them? Claire and Matt Kromko… my dad was an engineer who was a jock in high school and my mom was a lawyer.

But why'd they forget my birthday? Don't worry- I never held it against them.

It's because my brother and sister were born the day after I was.

Twins.

Older… twins.

Amanda and Ryder, the track star and salutatorian feminist, and the football and wrestling star with Tony Stark's brains… at least in science and math.

Yeah, I kinda got shoved to the side. Average grades, no sports, into music and art…

I fit in more with Mack's family than my own.

Mack only had her dad in the picture; her mom died when she was little from cancer. What kind of cancer was it? A brain tumor? That sounded right…

Mack and I had been friends since I was little. I slept over at her house more than I slept in my own bed. She always made me feel better.

And then she found out about my… my problem.

It all started when her and her dad left for a week vacation. No problem, right? Wrong. The kids at school who hated me, or barely tolerated me, noticed she was gone- Mack gets quite loud and angry, almost Hulk angry, when someone gets on my case- and they took advantage of her being gone. And my parents were mad because of a few not so hot grades in math… and with my brother and sister getting ready for their senior year and practically forgetting there were five people in the house, not four...

That was three years ago, when I was eleven.

Three years of fighting…

She'd helped me get over the pain of it all, and she was still helping me. Mack just stuck to me like glue. Best friends… I hoped she'd be the one friend who never left. She hadn't in seven years, and that was saying a lot.

So… bad family memories, bad school memories, good memories with Mack...

I sighed as my body trembled from the cool Grid breeze. There was one thing I wasn't remembering, though…

How did I get here?

The last thing I remembered was… was Mack's excitement that our grade was getting to go on a tour of ENCOM. I heard her squealing in my head and laughed at the thought.

But that was it.

Everything just stopped there.

I sighed. Maybe it was better that I didn't remember. In fact, though I could remember everything, except how I wound up in Computer Wonderland, all my memories were a bit hazy, like they were fuzzy.

I wanted to reach for the vial of energy hidden in my cloak, but I was too weak. My hand fell to the pavement as all my remaining strength suddenly left and I fell into a restful, no memories allowed, sleep.

* * *

_-thanks, Panda Bear Lover 317 and Krisdaughter of Athena for the reviews! :)_


	12. Chapter 12

(Kaijo's POV… or "Toby's"…)

My energy was almost gone.

That means the stuff in the bottle.

And my strength, too.

I tipped the bottle back and downed the last couple drops of shiny stuff that made me wonder what it was doing to me inside. "Blast," I mumbled, still holding onto the bottle in case I needed it later. Maybe find more energy, break it over a Black Guard's head, smash and stab into a would-be molester's hand- oh, the possibilities.

I kept walking, grateful for the streets being almost entirely empty. Where I was headed, I didn't need a crowd of witnesses.

No, I wasn't killing, or was it derezzing, anyone. I'd had some sort of epiphany between regaining most of my memory and waking up from passing out from exhaustion.

"This," I gasped as I walked along, feeling the small amount of energy flare up and making me stronger, "is probably the craziest thing I've ever stinking done…"

I smirked at the thought, though. "…and yet, it's probably the best idea I've ever had."

So I kept walking.

And walking.

Until I reached CLU's (or Tesler's?) ship.

…

As I crawled around inside the air vents of Tesler's ship- thank being short for that- my hair fell in my face constantly without my helmet on. I'd taken it off; the vents were hot and stuffy.

I smiled slightly, remembering Mack expressing how she wanted to either own restaurant or a hair salon.

The fact that she'd caused the cooking teacher to break out a fire extinguisher in the third week of school had convinced her cooking wasn't her calling, and with my hair growing just past my waistline…

what better time for a haircut?

I hadn't had it cut in two years. My hair was always shorter, and Mack figured that she needed the practice, so she cut it. And she did great. My hair was layered- how she pulled that off, I'll never know- and it was longer in the front and shorter in the back. The cowlick on the back of my head, right off the part in my hair, stuck up nonstop, and with this haircut, it stuck up more noticeably. I didn't mind though. Mack trimmed my hair once a month, and we figured we'd let it grow out through the winter, and then she could cut it in April or something…

I shook my head as I kept crawling. My parents hadn't cared too much about the fact I'd gotten my hair cut. I didn't tell them about it at all… it took them two weeks to notice. Sometimes I thought maybe if I dyed my hair blue or green or something like that, my whole head, mind you, they'd never notice until it was all washed out.

They noticed in two seconds when Mack came over about three weeks before my memories just dropped off with the ends of her hair a pale blue. She was making a statement about judging others by appearance, a social experiment. So far, her results were turning out exactly the way we'd both predicted.

The dye was enough to have people turning their heads away, and it was only an inch of dye at the tips of her brownie colored, curly shoulder length hair. Really? I smirked at that, remembering in turn a video we'd seen at church- me and Mack and her dad, my parents didn't go- for a back to church Sunday where two guys were on a park bench. One was covered in tattoos, his hair shaved into a mohawk, and the other just reading a book or pamphlet or something while the other dude was listening to music and drumming with drum sticks for no apparent reason. The dude with the headphones stopped, pulled them out, and then invited the other guy to church!

Wasn't there a saying for this? Oh yeah…

"'Don't judge a book by its cover,'" I mumbled, making my way to the final vent. I grinned. Push out the grate in front of me, and I was in Paige's room.

And Paige was there…

I took a deep breath. "God," I whispered, or mouthed, praying, "let me say the right thing. Please…"

And I kicked out the grate.

...

"Who are- TOBY!"

Paige wasn't too happy to see me, considering she had her disc in hand and ready to throw in a millionth of a second. I held up my hands and deactivated my helmet, scared. "Okay, not here to hurt anyone or take anything. I just want to talk."

"You gave up that right, User," she snapped.

I wasn't fazed. "Wow, little harsh there, huh? Considering I could've said you saved my sorry butt and turned you in to Tesler or CLU…" I put my hands down and smirked.

Paige glared, but slowly lowered the disc. She stepped forward. "One wrong move," she growled, "and I will derezz you."

"No you won't."

Well… that was blunt on my part.

She blinked in shock, then recovered her "I'm ready to Hulk out on you" face. I watched as she just stared at me. "Talk."

I started talking, a little scared at her disc was still ready to kill. "You know you're on the wrong side, right?"

That was not making her want to strangle the life out of me any less. "What are you-"

"Look at you! CLU would've had me dead the second he saw me! Tesler, too! But not you…"

"I fight for CLU." Paige's voice was low and deadly. I saw the hand that held her disc twitch.

"Why?"

Paige frowned. The disc went lower. "Why what?"

"Why do you fight for CLU?"

She glared again. "The ISOs."

I nodded. "I've heard about 'em. What'd they d-"

"They killed my friends, destroyed my life before thi-" she stopped and looked away. "Why do you care?"

"Who…" I had to word this right… "Who got you into, you know, this? This new life and all?"

She had loyalty written all over her face and said the name I was sure she would: "Tesler. Why?"

Something was just off with the whole set up. "So… Tesler got you caught up in this racket after the ISOs went kill-crazy?"

"He saved me. He gave me a chance to get back at them for-"

"So this is all revenge," I interrupted her, crossing my arms defiantly. "You're doing this because you want justice."

"Yes."

I nodded. "Judge, jury and executioner…" I shook my head. "The justice system's flawed no matter what world you're in."

"…what?"

"How do you know for sure the ISOs killed your friends?"

That made her mad, and the disc came up to her waist. "I've heard about what they can do! I've heard they-"

"You're basing this all on hearsay? Rumors? No visual evidence?"

"I saw what the hospital looked like after they did it! I saw where my friends died!"

I frowned. "'After'… you said after. You didn't see it during?"

"No. They knocked me out."

Something was flat out wrong with how this was adding up. It was like a bad equation in math class… where was my teacher to be proud of me for that analogy?! "They let you live… and killed everyone else?"

"Yes…"

I sighed. "Paige…" I took a deep breath and blurted out, "I don't think they did it."

And with that, all I saw was Paige rushing at me with his disc coming at me. She threw me to the floor and let the hot edge rest right by my throat. I struggled to breathe as she pressed it closer. "They derezzed my friends! I know it!" she hissed in my ear, knowing that screaming was only going to draw attention.

I just stared at her as she glared, her eyes burning with rage. "You weren't there to see the damage, User. You-"

Her shaking voice was cut off as I snapped, "I have a name, you know. Use it. I'm not scum, and I'm not worth any less than you." Wow, since when did I believe that about myself? Mack was really doing good if she got me believing that!

"What?"

Paige wasn't happy… not good.

I smirked. "My name is Kaijo. Not 'User.' Not 'Toby.' I have a name just like you, PROGRAM."

She stared at me, the disc moving away from my throat a little. "You really are naive, you know that?" I continued, my smirk growing. "You just believe every little lie Tesler and CLU cram down your throat."

"They do not-"

"Oh yes, they do!" I snapped, waiting for her to either get up, or send the disc through my neck. "Tesler tells you this. You believe it. Tesler tells you that. You believe it. And without question! You're supposed to ask questions, Paige, not just agree mindlessly to a load of crap!"

Paige's glare got worse and before I knew what was happening I felt sick. Really sick. My stomach churned and I threw up, twisting my head as much as I could, which wasn't all that much with a disc aimed at my throat. Paige jumped up off me and I shakily sat up, puking up what little energy I had inside me onto her floor. She put down her disc and deactivated it as I heaved, wheezing for breath. What was going on with me? I-

"What- are you okay?" she asked, suddenly at my side and concerned.

I grinned despite the pain and nausea. "You k-know," I stammered, heaving again for a second, "Tesler would k-killed me a-as soon as I-I…" I threw up more and started shaking more, crying from the pain in my head.

Paige looked away. "I know."

I laughed at that. "Y-you do? W-wouldn't think a C-commander would care about scum l-like me. I-I'm n-no better th-th-than a stupid ISO…"

Paige shook her head. "You're not like them! I don't like Users much, but you're not-"

I laughed hoarsely and said, "Tesler hates Users. Tesler hates ISOs. You hate Users, too. S-so…" I stared at her and wiped off my chin, "why haven't you killed me yet?"

"Wha-"

"Kill me. Prove you fight for CLU, Paige." I smiled. "Prove you know the ISOs killed your friends. Prove you side with ruthless killers and liars. Prove it all! Just kill me and tell Tesler and CLU…" I watched as she toyed with her disc, activating it. "Prove you know for a fact that you're on the right side."

"Yes, Paige."

We both jumped at the new voice. It was low and creepy and kinda on the lines of the Joker-

Pavel.

Pavel stood over us, cackling. "Show your loyalty and derezz her."

* * *

_-and stopping there… anyone think Paige'll actually do it? idk… we'll find out!_

_i didn't have much time to proof this, but there should be minimal typos... sorry :( i'm super busy with getting around for Christmas, and i don't mean to have errors in my writing... sorry, guys :(_

_thanks, Pirateweasel and Krisdaughter of Athena for reviewing! :)_


	13. Chapter 13

(Kaijo's POV)

Okay...

So either Paige was gonna stick her disc through me and end my life to prove a loyalty that was quickly falling to bits (no Grid pun intended there), or she was gonna let Pavel stick his disc through her...

Oh man.

I was dead for sure.

Not that I didn't put any faith in Paige, but she was kneeling by me, her disc was getting closer to my throat, my puked up energy was all over the floor, and Pavel was staring down at the both of us sadistically…

Yeah, I was done for.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to have Pavel's twisted face be the last thing I ever saw. Paige's disc got closer to my throat- I could feel the heat coming off it.

Something slammed into me- I'm not sure where 'cause all I felt was pain- and for a second it felt like I was flying before I hit something really hard. By now I couldn't open my eyes if I wanted to. The pain was so bad and I was crying. Was this what derezzing felt like? It didn't seem like i-

"You idiot! Why didn't you kill her?!"

I wasn't derezzing.

I wasn't dying.

Why was it taking so stinking long to settle in that I was alive?! In pain, yeah sure, but ALIVE?!

I breathed a shaky sigh of relief as I opened my eyes. The relief left as quickly as it had come, sadly, as I saw Paige and Pavel fighting. I noticed I was on the other side of the room. Paige must've grabbed me and threw me so I wasn't in the way of their fighting.

She wasn't loyal…

I smirked and started pushing myself up, my stomach deciding it there was no better blasted time to start practicing gymnastics. Leaning on the wall, I got to my feet. I felt like I was drunk. No, I'd never been drunk, but I'd seen it on TV and in movies enough. My head was pounding as I tried to take a step, Pavel's screaming as his and Paige's discs kept colliding not helping any.

"Look at her!" he yelled. "She's a pathetic USER! How could you? HOW?!"

Paige didn't answer, just waited and finally after a few more blows rammed Pavel when his rage left an opening. He fell to the ground, not moving.

Paige rushed over to me as I slid down the wall, too tired to stand. What was happening to me? "We have to go- NOW!" She pulled me up, and I didn't care at all that I was sure my arm was most likely now out of its socket.

"Why leave?"

Oh, shoot.

Pavel either got up from faking being unconscious, punched me and then dropkicked Paige, or punched me, kicked Paige and then got up from faking being uncon-

Nope, first option. Definitely first option.

I rubbed my sore jaw, wincing as I got up from the floor. "Things were just getting started!" Pavel taunted, sounding just like the Joker, swinging his disc wildly. I grabbed my own off my back and activated it, throwing it in Pavel's general direction without really thinking.

And… it missed.

"How did I not fail gym?!" I muttered to myself, catching my disc as it almost took off my hand. I tried again, this time nearly cutting off Pavel's head as he grabbed Paige in a choke hold. He had to duck to miss it, and I jumped, tackling him and sending his disc flying. He let go of Paige and instead started trying to strangle me.

"Pathetic User!" he spat in my face, his face only inches from mine. I felt like throwing up again-

and I did.

Right on Pavel.

It wasn't much, only a mouthful of energy- how I had any left in my system I didn't know. But it was in his face and down his suit and he jumped off me, leaving me on the floor gasping as he had a royal hissy fit. Paige grabbed me again and got me up, but not before sending a punch to Pavel's jaw that knocked him to the floor, stunned.

She grabbed a baton off a table in her room and went to twist it. "Are y-you sure that's s-safe?" I gasped, trying to get my breath back. Activating a lightjet in close quarters didn't sound like a good idea!

"No, but it's our only chance!" she answered quickly, her words clipped as she twisted the baton, pulling me onto the back of the lightjet as it formed and we flew threw her window, sending the shards flying. I felt a few new cuts open up of my arm from the glass.

Yay…

Paige glanced around, then made eye contact. "The orange is a giveaway!" she yelled over the engines. "Can you do anything about it?"

I looked down at the jet, seeing she was right. The lightjet's orange circuits would give us away as rebels instantly. I prayed quickly and closed my eyes, pressing my hands down to the plane, imagining it was blue, not orange. Blue, not orange. Blue not-

"You did it!"

I opened my eyes in time to see the circuits flicker to a brilliant blue. I smiled weakly and rezzed up my helmet as Paige did the same, taking the jet higher. I held onto her, knowing that we were still at risk of being found-

orange.

Paige's suit was still Occupation-friendly. I moved my hand to her shoulder and did the same thing as I'd done to the jet, knowing it was draining my energy. My mind was now linked to the Grid's mainframe… the brain works like a computer- I knew that much… so because I was a User, the computer rewrote my body as code… and it responded to my orders?

That was awesome! I felt like a Jedi… except better, because, well, the whole Force having a dark and light side is a load of crap. I wasn't doing this with my mind- I was connected to the computer!

It was just too cool.

Paige looked back at me. "What-" she looked at her arm and gasped. "Oh…"

"What?" I shouted back, trying to get my voice loud enough so it could be heard. "You don't like blue and green?"

Pale blue circuits accented with aqua green circuits… not bad on the ex-commander. In fact, the green looked like it really suited her. "No, I just… forgot about-"

"I understand." I saved her from having to explain that she'd just gotten used to the other suit, didn't even think about it. Anything Occupation was going to be a rough topic to navigate, but it was gonna come up sooner or later.

"I think we should head for the outlands," Paige said a little while later. All I could do was nod weakly, feeling sick again. My ears were ringing, and I was hoping it was an actual sound from the jet.

But the longer the sound lasted, the more I doubted it.

As we flew, I started going through all my issues…

I was dizzy, I was nauseous and puking my guts out, I was having trouble remembering things in general, my clumsiness had increased tenfold, and now I had ringing in my ears. I was pretty sure I'd missed a few things in there along the way, but still…

That was quite a list.

Trying to trace all the problems back to when they started, I figured it was about six months ago. There really hadn't been anyone to tell, and I wasn't throwing up, at least until my memory randomly just dropped off. Mack knew about the dizziness, and we just wrote it off as stress. But it was getting steadily worse. I just hadn't bothered to mention that minor detail.

And my parents weren't going to want to hear that their letdown daughter was going to cost them money.

Suddenly I felt the jet spin, tilting till it was vertical. I gasped, trying to figure out if this was the dizziness or if Paige was really flying like-

she wasn't.

She'd tilted the jet a little, but not THAT much. She turned around and I could hear her screaming something, but I couldn't make it out. I turned and gasped, seeing four lightjets in pursuit, all orange.

Great...

And then they started shooting.

Paige pulled the jet higher and higher, and the high didn't help my dizziness any. I held onto her for dear life as a shot skimmed my back, tearing open my cloak. It knicked my back slightly, and it stung.

"We're gonna stall out!" I called to Paige, breathing heavily as my dizziness returned.

"What?"

Yay for me not being loud enough…

As soon as she said that though, the jet sputtered and started a downward spiral. Paige looked back quickly. "I think I know what you meant now!"

And she didn't sound the least bit panicked… she sounded terrified!

The jet suddenly flickered back to life and Paige straightened out, dodging every shot like a master. The other jets got closer and closer-

and something exploded.

I glanced over my shoulder, seeing one of the planes blow sky high, its pilot falling to the ground as they activated their parachute. Who-

The Renegade.

Paige growled as she looked back. "Him?! Really?!"

"What?" Okay, so now she had issues with the dude who was saving our sorry butts. "He's helping us!"

"How do you know?! He could be shooting at us!"

"All the shots coming our way are ORANGE!" I screamed back, just as another jet blew to bits and its pilot did the same as the last one.

Paige glanced around. "He's… he's not derezzing them…"

I looked back again, seeing the Renegade aiming at the jet in a place where blowing it up wouldn't take the pilot up with it. He… he wasn't killing them. That was great! But what had Paige so shocked about it?

Oh… framed for murder.

That could be important.

As the two remaining lightjets opened fire again, I felt the world spin violently. I lost my hold on Paige as she made a sharp turn and I fell from the jet, feeling shots race past my body. It felt like everything slowed down- Paige turning as I fell farther, the Renegade yelling something, another of the lightjets exploding and its rider falling- everything.

Except me.

I couldn't focus, I couldn't think, I couldn't do anything.

So this is what it felt like to fall, without anyone to catch you…

Something slammed into my back, and I blacked out, too weak to care if I made it out of this alive.

* * *

_-thanks, Pirateweasel for reviewing! :)_


	14. Chapter 14

I sat in the cave, helmet gone, weak and alone, as Paige left to… I couldn't remember what. I sighed, fighting down a wave of nausea. My throbbing head didn't help any with that.

Turns out the Renegade had caught me and then handed me back off to Paige, who evaded him and wound up in the outlands. I woke up to her gently shaking me awake. I felt horrible.

I still couldn't remember what caused me to wind up here, wind up a fugitive running with an ex-Commander and feeling like a popsicle. Why did the outlands have to be so cold?!

Back to thinking… focus!

There was something there… something minor. And it wasn't a good something. It was bad, I could tell. What was it? Had I had a fight before I wound up here? Was I scared of something? Had something bad happened to me? Had someone hurt me?

I felt a tear roll down my cheek and I quickly wiped it away. Something had to have happened, maybe that morning… or whenever I disappeared.

I just needed to know WHAT that was. Maybe then I could figure out how to get back, if there was any way back, and granted that there wasn't some freaky time difference where everyone I knew had died and Borg taken over the earth or something. I snorted, regretting it immediately as my head throbbed more. "Well, at least I remember Star Trek."

I really wanted to get back. Yeah, things weren't the greatest… but it was what I was used to. And Mack… I really missed my best friend. If I lost her…

"We're out of sight," Paige announced, bringing me back to reality. I looked up from my ball on the floor and nodded, shivering.

"Are you okay?" she asked, immediately at my side and pulling my cloak tighter around me. I nodded weakly, my eyes sliding shut. I just needed to sleep. Paige seemed to understand and patted my shoulder gently before adjusting the cloak again. I heard her walk away and I fell asleep, hoping that when I woke up things would be back to normal, that I'd be home- I was using the term very loosely- not freezing, not tired, and not puking my guts out.

It felt like I had just drifted off when something- no, someone- screamed. I woke up, everything blurry at first, way too blurry-

and when it snapped into focus, I wished it hadn't.

* * *

_-shorter chapter, i know :P sorry for any typos :(_

_thanks, guys, for the reviews! :) _


	15. Chapter 15

(Kaijo's POV)

Tesler was in the cave.

And Pavel.

Before I could react, Tesler kicked me in the chest, throwing me backwards into the wall. I groaned and rolled over, forgetting I felt like crap and sitting up, panting. "Someone obviously never taught you manners," I grumbled, glaring at him.

His eyes narrowed. "Watch your tone, USER," he spat, stepping closer, his fists glowing. What was that all about?!

"Oh, great, now he's mad," I muttered, staring up at him.

His fist hit me- hard. I hit my head off the wall as he punched my in the jaw. It wasn't broken, but I couldn't be sure on my ribs. Maybe a few bruised, nothing too major. The world spun and I heard Paige yell, saw a blurry Pavel fall to the ground unconscious with his disc rolling out of the cave. She attacked Tesler, her disc slicing his arm, but not enough to do much damage. He just growled and his wrist extended, his hands grabbing Paige's throat and starting to strangle her as he pinned her to the far wall of the cave. He snickered. "Not so tough now, are we, Commander?"

Paige tried to get air and wound up gasping. I slowly stood up, angry with this nutcase with extendo-arms. Everything spun again, and I felt sick. I pushed the nausea down and jumped onto Tesler as Paige's eyes started to close and her hands fall away from where they were futilely trying to remove Tesler's from her throat. I wrapped my arms around his thick neck and pulled him to the ground, hitting my back hard. He let go of Paige, who fell to her knees.

Before I could figure out what was going on- why was I zoning out so much?- Tesler had me pinned under him, grinning like a madman, which of course he was. "Pathetic User," he hissed, his face inches from mine and his breath nasty. Toothpaste on the Grid… not a bad idea here!

I couldn't reply as the world violently turned on its head. I felt something wrapping around my throat and stopping me from breathing. Where was Paige? was she okay? What was-

"Get off of her. NOW."

Everything started turning black, flickering really bad. I couldn't' get a breath, no matter how hard I tried. But that voice was new. It wasn't Pavel or Tesler or Paige or-

the weight on top of me disappeared and the sound of discs hitting each other constantly made my headache ten times worse. I got my breath back and slowly opened my eyes, seeing the Renegade and another program in the same suit as his… only black…

…Tron?

This had to be Tron! I so knew he wasn't dead!

I tried to sit up, but fell back on my back, wincing. Yep, ribs weren't in great condition. I watched the fight instead, feeling perfectly useless, as Tron and Tesler were fighting, the Renegade taking on a now conscious Pavel-

who had something strange glowing on the back of his disc.

I forced myself to get up, swaying on my feet. I ran at Pavel. I grabbed his disc off him as we fell to the floor. I pulled off the glowing thing and stared at it. "What is this?" I asked.

Man, my voice sounded like a garbage compactor after getting choked.

Tesler looked over his eyes wide as I dodged Pavel's punch aimed at my head. I punched him in the jaw, sending him flying back into the Renegade, who kicked him in the gut, the chest, then smashed Pavel's face off his knee and the Commander fell to the ground, out cold again. "That's the upgrade!" His arm shot towards me and I tried to hold onto it, knowing that if he got his hands on it, things would end very badly. I just wished, hoped, prayed that it would just crumble to pieces as Tesler's pull yanked it from my hands-

and it disintegrated.

Tron, the Renegade, and Paige stood stone still. Tesler stood in shock, his hands still cradling the broken upgrade for something or other. "How…" he groaned, then glared at me, his eyes blazing a scary orange. Not good. "How… HOW COULD YOU?!" He grabbed me and threw me into a wall, or would've; the Renegade's disc sliced through his stretched out arms and I fell to the floor. Tesler fell to his knees and somehow- I wasn't watching- Tron knocked him clean out, laying in a heap next to Pavel.

I shivered, feeling worse than ever. Something wasn't right, more than ever. I felt like I was being pulled, pulled apart somehow. I just curled up on the floor as the pain grew worse and moved from just my head to my entire body. I felt Paige's cool hand only forehead as she knelt next to me, the Renegade and Tron joining her. I laughed. "W-well… i-isn't everybody c-con-c-cerned?" I stammered.

Paige frowned. "What's happening to you?"

"Do-don't know," I muttered, coughing weakly. "Y-you have t-t-to get out of h-here. B-Before they w-wake up."

Paige shook her head. "No, I'm not-"

"She's right," the program who I was ninety-nine point nine percent sure was Tron interrupted, his voice really grating.

Paige looked at him, then back at me. "And leave you here?"

I shrugged, wincing. "S-something tells m-me I-I'll only s-sl-slow you all d-down."

Tron's head tilted. "She's not derezzing."

"Do you what her to or something?" Paige snapped, her eyes blazing in concern.

"No," he said flatly. "But it means she's not dying. At least, not here."

"You mean-" the Renegade started to say.

"Yes." Tron nodded. "When you die here as a User, you return to the User World," he explained. I couldn't quite catch the meaning of what he said at first, but as soon as I did, I felt the tears fall as I smiled.

Home…

That sounded good.

"So… good-bye?" I said feebly, smiling. "G-gonna miss y-you guys…"

Paige smiled sadly. "I'll miss you, too."

And before anything else could happen, I blacked out.

* * *

…

* * *

"…et the door open!"

"Where's Bradley?!"

I groaned and pushed myself up from the ground-

wait.

This is floor! Tile floor!

I stood up, shaking from pain and, I'll admit, a little fear. Where was I? And… why was the room all smoke?

"Gotta get her out…"

"… how'd she get in there?"

"Security's checking…"

I heard bits and pieces of shouting outside the door. My head throbbing, I sat down on the floor- more like fell down. I felt sick. There was a red light flashing in the room somewhere, as well as some siren going off. What was going on?

And why-

The doors to the room flew open and a bunch of security guards rushed in, along with medics and a guy in a suit. My head spun worse than ever and I felt someone grab my arm before I passed out again, finally back in my own world.

* * *

_-and Kaijo's back home!  
_

_okay, first off: sorry for accidentally posting the wrong chapter for about thirty seconds yesterday. and sorry for any typos :(  
_

_i posted a new Young Justice oneshot a couple of days ago called _This Isn't the End_ if anyone's interested._

__thanks, Pirateweasel, Krisdaughter of Athena, and WhiteTigerMarsya for reviewing! :)__


	16. Part Three - What Christmas Is All About

(3rd Person POV)

"Okay, so here's the security footage from inside the room..."

Alan Bradley stood, arms crossed, behind a group of six or seven members of ENCOM's security, along with the principal- a petite woman in a grey suit with her hair wrapped into a tight bun with the name Mrs. Angelica Thomas- of Lincoln High School. She looked deep in thought, and before coming in to view the footage which security had only now been able to retrieve out of the entire day's feed, she had expressed that the young girl who'd wound up in a room clearly marked "Warning: do not enter" was not one to do something so foolhardy.

That girl, Alan noted as security started the video, was now at the hospital. When security had gotten the door down, a computer in the small room had managed to blow up, and she was suffering from smoke inhalation. They also wanted to run some tests on her for-

"There." Alan pointed at the screen as the door opened to the room, showing the feed from inside it. It showed the door opening and the girl who'd been carried out on a stretcher shoved inside. It was obvious she hadn't opened the door. She tripped over a large crate in the middle of the room in the process, but got up quickly, running to the door just as it was pulled closed.

Alan's frown deepened as the girl pounded on the door, shouting something. A raucous laugh was the only response heard through the door and she felt around in the dark room for a light switch which would light up the room more than the light built into an outlet near the door. She found it and flipped it on, her blond hair a mess as she brushed it out of her face and startlingly grey eyes; she looked around, then started looking at the crates all over the room. "Today's just not my day," she muttered, not looking angry or sad over this whole thing, but something else entirely. "And there's nothing I can use to get out. Unless," she rammed her hands into her coat pockets and pulled out a wrinkled five, a quarter and a few pennies, a small notebook with "journalism" written in graffiti letters across it, a half empty pack of gum, and a pencil. "...nope."

The principal motioned for them to pause the feed and she sighed. "So... what happened that got her thrown in there?"

"And what caused the computer in there to blow up?" Alan asked, wondering how that managed to happen.

They started playing the video again and the girl, who was sitting on the floor, suddenly looked up in the direction of the old computer, the huge computer that dominated half a wall. "And I'm an idiot..." she got up and walked over to it. "Okay, not at all like my laptop." She stood still for a minute, then pressed something on it which turned the contraption on. While it turned on, she grabbed her phone and pulled it out of her jeans pocket, turning it on.

"No service? Come on!" she shook her head and put it back in her pocket, turning her attention back to the computer. She sighed, seeing only a black screen. "Wow... wonder if ENCOM even knows this thing's here."

Alan bit his lip at that comment. That was it- he hadn't known it was there. It was a room that no one went in; the dust coating the crates and computer was proof enough.

But who had?

The girl just stared at the floor. "All I did was tell them to knock it off yesterday! They were being jerks and saying those kids were stupid for writing about their hardships... maybe that's how they get through them, geniuses! Ever think of that?"

The video paused again. Alan looked to Mrs. Thomas in complete confusion. "What's she talking about?"

The principal started to shrug, then realized what the girl meant. "There was a poetry slam group at the school that was working on some poems to share with the school, and they were reading them in the auditorium. I didn't go, but I heard they were excellent and very heart-felt. Kaijo must've been there and something must've went down between her and whoever threw her in this room."

"So revenge?" a mountain in a security guard uniform questioned, looking incredulous.

The principal nodded. "Looks like it. Now... the only question is who's behind this? You did say the cameras outside this room were down, right?"

Alan nodded. "Sadly."

"Well, Mr. Bradley, I must apologize for the behavior of some of my students. This will be handled, I promise."

Alan nodded again and said, "I trust you will. I just hope this girl- Kaijo you said?- is alright. How DID the computer explode?"

Another security member turned from their computer, removing a headset. "Sir."

Alan walked over with the principal on his heels as the man showed them more footage from inside the room. "Looks like the computer had a short in it. Blew up when she was trying to use it and took out the camera."

Mrs. Thomas shook her head. "I honestly can't believe this happened. I-" her phone rang and she answered it quickly. "Hello? Yes, this is Principal Thomas... yes... is she alright?... Minor concussion?... bruising and- I'm sorry, could you please repeat that last thing?... memory loss? How much?... just today? Okay- scanning for what? But that wouldn't be caused by- okay. Showing signs of... I understand. Thank you." She hung up and looked like she'd gone from professional to frazzled in seconds. Which she had.

Alan was shocked. "Memory loss?"

Mrs. Thomas nodded and said, "Yes," and began to explain. "There's some bruising, probably from the explosion, and she has a minor concussion. The memory loss is only of about a day or two, and they found some complications."

"What kind?"

"Something with her brain or in her head just isn't right. They're keeping her at Northern General overnight for observation and for more scans. They don't think what they're scanning for is caused by anything that happened today."

Alan nodded grimly. Something wasn't right. "What are they scanning for exactly?"

"I don't know," the principal admitted. "But it's a miracle it wasn't worse."

Alan just turned back to reviewing the security feed. It was odd that the whole thing, at least until the right before the computer blew up, was caught on camera-

because that camera hadn't worked in fifteen years.

* * *

That night, Alan stayed late at ENCOM, his tie loosened and his dress shirt collar askew. He stood in the room, surveying the charred walls and the damaged computer. He could see the dust on the floor; where the girl had stepped there was none. Walking over to the computer, Alan frowned yet again that day and tilted his head.

How...?

A computer shouldn't blow up... unless something overloads it...

He hurried back to the security room, only one guard on duty. He walked over to a computer and pulled up the feed from earlier, watching the video play back once, twice, three times-

there!

He rewound the video and slowed it down, eyes wide.

The girl had disappeared.

A flash of light had appeared from the computer and she was engulfed in it. Then the video just ended. It would've looked like part of the explosion to anyone else, but not Alan.

That wasn't a typical explosion.

That looked like...

Alan froze, his jaw almost dropping. Almost. He quickly turned the computer off and left the building, simultaneously heading for his car and hoping he was wrong.

Why?

Because it looked like Flynn had backed up the Grid with another access point inside ENCOM itself that he'd never known about.

And because it certainly seemed like that teenager had accidentally tumbled onto the Grid from that computer.

* * *

_-this is just not my week for updating... or proofing. :P just realized the prologue chapter was labeled "epilogue"... i blame school for my brain working about as well as a bowl of mashed potatoes :( sorry about that, and sorry for any typos :(_

_new Christmas drawings on my Twitter account! check my profile for my username. _

_thanks, Pirateweasel, WhiterTigerMarsya and Krisdaughter of Athena for the reviews! :)_


	17. Chapter 17

"I can't believe she did something so stupid," Matt Kromko whispered to his wife as they sat in the school's office, waiting for the principal. He looked angry, his lips set in a straight line, not even bothering to shave the black and grey stubble from his beard as he raced home from work. When the call came in, he hadn't been the least bit concerned. Only angry.

His wife was no better.

Working on a case, and having do deal with a new assistant, Claire Kromko was far from thrilled. Her grey business suit was beginning to crease from how she had her arms crossed; her blond hair, pulled up in a bun, was starting to come unraveled. Kaijo, who seemed lackadaisical anymore, had breached ENCOM security on a field trip. And was in the hospital.

They looked up from their furious staring contests with either the floor or the tacky green office walls as the principal stepped out of her office, sending a child who looked quite furious back to class, a paper in his hand. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Kromko, correct? I'm sorry about the wait. There was a fight right before you came in," she apologized profusely, shaking their hands and leading them into her office and shutting the door behind her. "Now, you know why you're here, right?"

As she sat behind her desk, which she almost disappeared behind, Matt's scowl deepened. "Yes."

Principal Thomas nodded. "Do you know what occurred?" she asked, pulling out a blue file with ENCOM printed across in black letters.

"She breached ENCOM's security."

The principal frowned at Mrs. Kromko's biting tone. These were Kaijo's parents? "Judging from your tone," she began in a voice equally as harsh, which took both parents aback slightly, "you don't know all the details." She jumped right into explaining as both parents went to retort. "Kaijo was shoved into a room by several girls, all in her grade, and locked in. She tried to get out, but wasn't successful. Only when her friend Mackenzie noticed her absence did anyone take action, and the door was broken down. There was an explosion in the room, and the details are all here."

As Claire took the file from the principal, she frowned. "What made them push her into that room?"

"Something went down between them and her yesterday when she confronted them about mocking students who read in a poetry presentation. The teacher in charge of it found out and thought she'd handled the girls. The girls were mad and…"

"This was revenge," Claire finished, biting her lip. "How is Kaijo?"

The principal shrugged and picked up another folder, this one from the hospital; both parents sat up straighter at the sight of it. "Bruising, minor concussion, and-"

Claire recognized something on one of the papers for a test… and not a good one. "What is that?"

Principal Thomas looked up at the interruption. "What? This?" she waved the paper slightly.

Kaijo's mother, now not sure what to think of her daughter, nodded and took the paper, skimming over it. "Why are they running this scan?" she asked, her voice quiet and worried.

"Something's not right with the scans they got back. They're hoping it's nothing. It wasn't caused by today's events, though- that much is certain."

Both parents tensed at that. They knew they'd paid less attention to their youngest over the years, especially after the twins left, but… they'd missed this? The test- no, tests- were ones that would've had symptoms showing before hand. Just how much had they missed? Her father shook his head. "She's only fourteen years old."

The principal frowned. "You do know she's fifteen, right?"

"What?!"

"Yes, your daughter's birthday was two weeks ago," the principal deadpanned, her gaze turning ugly fast. "Mr. and Mrs. Kromko, may I ask you something?"

Both nodded, starting to wonder just what kind of parents they were.

The principal took a deep breath, folded her hands and rested her elbows on the desk, then looked at both of them with a nasty stare. "What do you have against your daughter?"

Both were shocked at her bluntness. "What?"

"What do you have against Kaijo?" she asked again, her gaze hardening and making them squirm.

Her father spoke up first. "It's not that we have anything against her… But she's nothing like our older two children."

"So she has to live up to her older brother and sister's successes?"

"Well, no-"

"But that's what you just said."

Claire sighed. "We only wanted two children. And we got them. Kaijo was unexpected. She's always been slower at learning, she's always been lazy, and lately she's been going through some sort of phase-"

"And that gives you the right to completely forget her birthday?" The principal shook her head. "You are aware your daughter is in all honors classes, right?"

Her parents' expressions, as well as silence, confirmed they were not aware.

"Well, she is. Were either of you aware that she was on this field trip today?"

"Yes," her father answered, feeling ashamed; how did Amanda and Ryder manage with them as parents? "I signed the form."

…and how did they treat their little sister?

All the letters home had only been addressed to their parents, none for their sister, not even a birthday card in the recent weeks.

The principal could see the gravity of the situation weighing down on them. "If you want to go see her at the hospital, you can. Her friend Mackenzie is with her, and her father, too."

Both left the office minutes later, shocked and ashamed. They had to fix this.

* * *

"What'd they say?"

Mr. and Mrs. Kromko listened to the conversation outside the door as they walked up, watching as Mackenzie sat by her friend in the hospital room, noting the bruises on Kaijo's arms and face, as well as a bandage wrapped around her forehead.

"Something about tests…"

"What's wrong?" Mackenzie looked at her friend with a look that showed just how concerned she was for her friend.

Kaijo looked away, staring at the bedsheets like they were the most interesting thing ever. "Did… did all that really happen? I want to remember it, not just have someone tell me it's what happened. Mack, I'm scared. I've been throwing up more and more, and things have been getting worse! What's wrong with me?" A few tears slowly rolled down her face and Mackenzie reached up and wiped them away.

"I…" Mack sighed, biting her lip before she continued. "I don't know. But hey, that's what the doctors are for. They'll figure it all out. Do your parents know anything about your headaches or the-"

"No." Kaijo shook her head, then winced. "I can't tell them. They think I'm defective as it is. Why give them more reason to believe that?"

"They do not!'

Kaijo sighed. "Okay, fine. They think I'm pathetic compared to my brother and sister. Do you think they'll come?"

Her parents were through listening through the door and finally stepped in. "Kaijo?"

She looked up slowly, her grey eyes dull from the pain she was still in. "Hi, mom. Hi, dad." Everyone noted the slight surprise in her tone.

Her dad sat down on the bed on the opposite side of Mackenzie, noting her heated gaze at him and his wife. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Kaijo shrugged. "I'm just an idiot."

Mackenzie's glare sharpened and both parents were unsettled. "Kaijo, what makes you say that?" her mom asked, her voice quiet.

No answer. Only another shrug.

"Mackenzie?"

Everyone looked up, with the exception of Kaijo, as Mackenzie's father walked into the room, holding a cup of coffee. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Kromko," he continued, his own voice cold. "Mackenzie, let's go get some food."

Mack hesitated before leaving. She looked back through the door and her father grinned as she peeked in, saying, "I'll bring you back something," to Kaijo.

Kaijo just nodded. Now she was alone with her parents…

Claire sighed. "Kaijo, are you alright? "

She nodded. "Yeah. I'll be out of here soon."

Her father watched her expression carefully as he asked, "Do you remember anything about today?"

She shook her head. "No, missing a little bit of last night, too. Actually, the whole week's a little fuzzy."

He just looked down. Two days ago, he'd gotten in an argument with his daughter over her using her laptop. He hadn't spoken to her since, and the fact that she didn't remember it was working in his favor. At least, for now.

Both parents knew they had to start fixing things. Now. "Kaijo, we…"

Kaijo cut her mom off. "No, I'm sorry for cutting in, but I know I'm not the kid you wanted. I'm sorry. I'm trying, really I am, but-"

"Sweetie-"

Whoa. Kaijo's eyes widened. Her mom hadn't called her "sweetie" since she was nine.

This was going to be interesting...

* * *

_-sorry for any mistakes :(  
_

_thanks so much for the reviews, guys :)_


	18. Chapter 18

The day before Thanksgiving, Kaijo was released from the hospital.

She wasn't sure what was going on. Her parents were actually paying attention to her, her father had a somewhat guilty look on his face whenever she picked up her laptop, Mackenzie was popping up more and more at the house, which was entirely new…

When Thanksgiving morning rolled around, Kaijo was up at five in the morning with a splitting headache, knowing it was snowballing into a migraine that could last through the weekend. She looked pale as she sat in the living room with her laptop, typing something.

"Kaijo?"

She jumped at the sound of her dad's voice and instinctively moved to slowly close the laptop while also closing out all the documents and the Safari browser. "Hey, dad. Happy Thanksgiving… at-" she glanced at the clock on an antique style table by the couch, "five twenty in the morning."

He just nodded and sat beside her, noting all the tabs she'd been in were closed, her screen saver showing a picture he'd never seen before.

The picture was taken in the spring, if the budding trees were anything to go by. It was of a group of kids, at least fifteen of them, standing outside of the church just down the street. Right in the middle were Mackenzie and his daughter, both grinning. Three adults were in the picture, and Matt recognized two of them as husband and wife. The other was probably the pastor or assistant pastor. All of the kids and adults wore tie dye shirts with "Philippians 4:13" plastered across the front in black letters.

"You go to youth group?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake up his wife just yet. Today was going to be busy; the twins were coming home for a week, and then they'd be back for Christmas. He was surprised. He didn't really give church much thought.

Kaijo gulped, then nodded. "Yeah… I've gone for a while now, about three years. That's when they started it."

He hadn't noticed her leaving for this in three years?! And that would explain why she was always getting picked up by Mackenzie and her father every Sunday. "Are they all your friends?" he asked his daughter, awkwardly gesturing at the screen.

She nodded. "Yeah. We keep in touch either with email or our Twitter accounts."

Matt just nodded back dumbly; he remembered her asking if it was okay to have an account some time ago, and he nodded then, too, wanting to just read the newspaper in silence.

But this was what he wanted to know. Kaijo couldn't remember their fight. There was no way she'd be telling him this if she did. "Why not at school?"

"Half the kids go to different schools, and some are in higher grades. We try to talk every night, have a sort of Bible study or something like that, and then we meet up every Friday," she explained, smiling sadly. "They're really nice." He could tell there was something more to it, something that Kaijo just wasn't going to give away. But he didn't press her on it.

Now he felt like a jerk. He'd told her he didn't care if he took away her friends. "Were you talking to them now?"

She shook her head. "No, just trying to figure something out for the Christmas play programs."

"You're typing them up?"

"No... I'm designing them."

Matt sighed. "Wow, I've missed a lot, huh?"

Kaijo's expression stayed the same. "It's okay, dad. I know you and mom miss Amanda and Ryder-"

"No, it's not alright! Ever since the issue with ENCOM, I've realized what a jerk I've been. You shouldn't be feeling like you do about yourself, and that's my fault." He stopped to take a breath, feeling a lump grow in his throat; Matt Kromko was NOT about to cry. Not now… "I'm so sorry."

Kaijo didn't move for a moment, except to shut her computer and bite her lip. Then, before her father could react, she had her arms around his neck, hugging him. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and the tears came. "It's okay," she whispered, crying as well. He could feel the tears soaking his shirt. How she could forgive so easily after being put last for her whole life… Matt didn't know.

But he did know that she was far more than he thought she'd ever be.

And he was pretty stinking proud.

He smiled at her as they slowly released each other after some time, both their faces wet. He laughed and wiped her face dry with his thumb first, them used his red sweatshirt to roughly dry his. "I'm not going to get this right immediately, but I'll figure it out. Okay?"

She grinned and nodded, shocked that her father was actually willing to try with her.

Now if only she could figure out what all the questions about her computer were for…?

…

"Mom! Dad!"

Kaijo lay on the couch as her siblings loudly burst through the door, immediately hugging their parents. Her headache had gotten worse, just like she knew it would, despite four Tylenol between five in the morning and two in the afternoon, and her parents had insisted that she lay down, both showing concern she didn't know they had.

But as her brother and sister moved to the kitchen without saying one word to her, she felt her heart twist. The first time they come home from college, and they forget about her. She sighed and sat up, the room twisting for a minute before she stood up and looked at their luggage. She knew they'd like it if their stuff was up in their old rooms, and she couldn't lay down forever... so she grabbed her sister's stuff first and carried the three pink suitcases, all thankfully light, up to her room and set them on the floor beside the bed. Then, before anyone noticed her absence, she grabbed up her brother's things, which were quite heavy- she thought her sister would've had the heavier stuff… it was probably all laundry- and hauled them up to his room. Then she got back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, looking at the off white paint that complimented the antique style of the living room. Burgundy walls, older but stylish furniture… the only thing out of place was the neon green blanket her mom had draped over the couch in case someone passed out on it after dinner, which was almost ready.

Kaijo closed her eyes, wishing the pain would go away. Now that her parents knew about youth group- her father had told her mother while she got changed out of her pajamas earlier- she had on her tie dye shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Comfortable clothes for having a blasted migraine.

"Hey, Kaijo…"

She opened her eyes, wincing as the window by the couch allowed far too much sunlight in. Her dad frowned at that, but knelt by the couch with a cup of hot chocolate. "Here." He handed it to her as she sat up; he knew the doctors had said she'd have issues with her head for a while because of the concussion, but he didn't think this was quite in the realm of post-concussion problems. He was sure it was from whatever they were testing his youngest for, and it was unsettling. "Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Just sit here and rest, okay?"

Kaijo smiled in thanks for the warm drink and sat on the couch, slowly sipping it. She heard talking in the kitchen and didn't bother trying to listen in. Instead, she pulled out her cell phone and turned it on, then fiddled with the bracelets on her wrists. There were ten in all, five on each arm; she figured if they were divided evenly no one would think twice.

And so far, no one had.

She quickly texted Mackenzie with her somewhat battered phone. It wasn't an iPhone like Mack's. Kaijo was sure she would've broken the thing in the first ten minutes she had it. It was a more generic one that needed minutes every so often. She didn't text much, so she had quite a few saved up. She watched the phone for a reply, sipping the hot cocoa slowly. Her mom was a good cook; she hadn't eaten at home in a while because she practically lived with Mackenzie and her dad. She really wanted to know what had caused the change of heart in her parents…

What happened to them?

…

"Dinner!"

Kaijo slowly walked into the kitchen, waiting for her brother and sister to get there first. They rushed past, like they had since they were little, and claimed two of the five seats; there were two on one side of the table, one on the other, and one seat at each end. The only seat she knew wouldn't be occupied would be the one directly across from them, as her parents took the other two, her mom setting down a steaming bowl of stuffing in the process.

Instead of praying, which Kaijo had just grown used to at Mack's, her family dug right in. Instead of joining their hustle and bustle of clanking silverware and plates, she bowed her head and closed her eyes in a quick prayer, lasting only a moment, then looked up and reached for the bowl of stuffing. The room spun slightly, and she shook her head slightly, managing to get the stuffing onto her plate without spilling it. She noticed everyone talking and laughing around her. Normal…

Typical family dinner.

She grabbed the rest of her food, earning a glare from her brother when they both reached for the green bean casserole at the same time; Kaijo quickly let her brother take it first. He sent her a smirk and rolled his eyes.

And no one noticed.

Good.

Kaijo kept quiet through the first half of dinner, slowly eating her dinner. Her father looked her way a couple times, but there was nothing said. She sighed and shoved a few peas around the plate. Back to normal already-

The room tipped violently and Kaijo clenched her fists, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She didn't notice the silence around her, until she opened her eyes.

"Kaijo?" her father was immediately concerned. "You okay?"

She nodded quickly, eager to get her brother and sister to stop staring. "Yeah, dad." She took another deep breath and relaxed as the room returned to normal. "I'm good."

Both parents hesitated before nodding, and the conversation picked up quickly, but not without both parents glancing her way once in a while. Kaijo finished early and quietly left the table, putting her dish and glass in the sink, then slowly climbing the stairs to her room. Green and blue walls, pink bed spread, dark wood furniture, and a purple carpet with colorful flecks greeted her as she closed the door noiselessly behind her. She sat on her bed, exhausted. Tryptophan wasn't supposed to kick in this quick, was it?

"Guess Ryder doesn't need me around," Kaijo mumbled, her grey eyes slightly wet. She laid down and licked her lips, tasting cranberry juice. "And… now I'm thirsty…" she rolled her eyes. At least she wasn't bothering her family.

She doubted they'd even notice her absence.

* * *

_\- sorry for any mistakes; i tried to catch them :(_

_thanks, Pirateweasel, Guest, Krisdaughter of Athena, WhiteTigerMarsya, and Lianne Yoffa for reviewing! :)_


	19. Chapter 19

"Kaijo, can you get the door?"

Everyone had just finished breakfast on a rainy Black Friday. Waffles, bacon, eggs, and fruit salad. Kaijo was sure her mom was only pulling out the stops because of her siblings. She answered with a quiet, "Yes, mom," and rushed to the door, hand on one of the two locks. "Who is it?"

"Who do you think?"

Mack? Kaijo hadn't called… and Mack never came to her house; it was always vice versa. Until her accident at ENCOM. She quickly unlocked the door just as Amanda and Ryder left the kitchen, just finishing their meal.

Mack grinned widely. "Hey, man! What's up? You look a little pale… is that normal?" she asked quickly, taking off her coat as she stepped inside and waved to her dad in his black Toyota Highlander as he drove off.

"I think so?" Kaijo wasn't sure if she was asking or answering. "What-"

"Am I doing here?" Mack filled in, running a hand through her hair, the tips still pale blue. "Your parents called, your mom to be exact, and then your dad got on the line."

Kaijo turned around to see her mom standing behind her, drying a frying pan. Her mom just smiled. "I figured you wouldn't have much to do after getting all your homework done Wednesday."

Mack's grin got bigger. "Hi, Mrs. Kromko."

"Hi, Mackenzie," she replied. She heard a timid "thank you" from Kaijo before the two took off upstairs. Her older two children stayed in the living room, heading over to a drawer of DVDs, looking for a movie. Knowing them, it'd take a while to pick one.

But Claire Kromko pushed the thought away, heading back into the kitchen where her husband sat, still nursing a cup of now cold black coffee. He didn't look up from the paper in his hands.

Strangely, it wasn't his morning paper.

She sighed and sat down next to him, setting down the now dry frying pan on the table and wringing the towel in her hands. "What do you think?"

"Don't tell her." Matt rubbed his temples and shook his head. "Not yet, at least not until tomorrow. This test…" he took a deep breath, "Good thing Mackenzie's here. Maybe that'll keep her busy while we call the doctor later. When is he in again?"

Claire glanced at the digital clock on the oven. 9:17. "Not for another hour."

"Should we tell the other two?"

Kaijo's father looked at his wife, his expression showing he had no idea if that was going to help matters or not; their oldest two clearly had no interest in their sister, which was partially- or mainly.. they weren't sure- their fault. Claire understood and said, "Let's not, at least not unless they start on her."

Her husband nodded numbly, still staring at the paper as the phone rang, interrupting the quiet. Ryder grabbed the phone in the living room and shouted, "Mom, it's some guy from ENCOM!"

"ENCOM?" Claire rushed to the living room and took the phone wordlessly. "Hello? Mr. Bradley? Uh, yes I'm Kaijo's mother… You want to talk to her? Today?… Tomorrow? Tomorrow's fine… Do you need the address, or- you have it? Okay, thank you, Mr. Bradley. See you tomorrow." She ended the call, eyes wide.

"Who was that?" her husband asked, stepping into the room, the papers from the doctor traded for the newspaper.

"Mr. Bradley from ENCOM."

Matt froze. "Him? What does he want?"

"He's coming over tomorrow, in the afternoon sometime," his wife explained, watching out the corner of her eye as Amanda and Ryder tuned in to the conversation. "He wants to talk to Kaijo."

"About…?"

She shook her head. "He didn't say. But it's probably not anything to worry about."

"With how high up he is in ENCOM?"

Claire put the phone down and crossed her arms. "Let's just see how it plays out. I'll go tell Kaijo."

Her husband nodded and sat down on the couch, watching Ryder and Amanda start squabbling about what movie. He sighed, worrying about tomorrow.

* * *

"Dude, you're really pale. Lay down or something!"

"I'm sitting down, Mack! That's close enough."

Mackenzie rolled her eyes dramatically. "Stubborn, you are."

"Yoda, you are not!" Kaijo answered back, smirking. "But if it'll make you feel better, I'll lay down."

Mackenzie smiled as her friend did so. "There, was that so hard?"

"Shut up."

"Okay, so how's everything going? Your parents seem more… not rock-like."

"You and your way with words," Kaijo joked, earning a pillow thrown at her face. "Hey! I'm supposed to be resting here!"

Mack laughed and sat on the edge of the bed. "So… talking Mr. Alan Bradley of ENCOM tomorrow… should be interesting."

"Interesting?! Dude, what if he's mad at me? I didn't mean to make the computer explode!"

Mackenzie noticed her friend go whiter yet. "Calm down, Just relax," she said soothingly, trying to get Kaijo to not worry. "It'll be fine. I'm sure they're not mad about the computer."

"What about the fact that I destroyed a room?"

"Not your fault," Mack retorted, concerned for her friend now. How worked up was Kaijo over this whole thing? With her condition… oh boy.

"… I caused them to break down a door?"

"And I repeat, NOT YOUR FAULT!" Mackenzie sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Kaijo, none of this is your fault. I'm sure he's not coming to yell at you."

Kaijo looked down at the blankets beneath her, not answering.

"Kaijo." Mack reached up and gently shook her friend's shoulder, gaining her attention. "Nothing that happened was your fault. Don't be blaming yourself for this."

Still no answer.

Mackenzie bit her lip before playing her final card. "Do you know what today is?"

"…Black Friday? Where greed and commercialism take over Christmas?"

The other girl shrugged. "Okay, it's that… but Kaijo," her voice dropped to a whisper, "it's one hundred days."

Kaijo blinked, then realized what Mackenzie had said. "What?"

"You did it! One hundred days," Mack repeated, grinning like an idiot.

Kaijo slowly smiled, her eyes slightly wet. "Wow… I thought I still had a while to go."

"Nope," her best friend continued, grinning as she popped the "p" in "nope". "I've been keeping track, and you made it. Congratulations, man!"

The two laughed at that, Kaijo forcing herself to sit up and managed to hug Mackenzie, the room twisting and churning around her. One hundred days…

that was…

amazing.

Kaijo's smile faltered as she hugged her friend. She was scared for tomorrow.

Just what did Alan Bradley want with her?

* * *

_-so... getting a lot of questions about the Grid. and, well, some questions will be answered with tomorrow's chapter._

_sorry for any typos :(_

_yesterday was one week til Christmas! :D_

_thanks so much for all the reviews!_

_have a great day, guys, and God bless! :)_


	20. Chapter 20

Nerves.

Blasted nerves.

Kaijo fought back the butterflies threatening to make her stomach explode. She felt horrible; her migraine was forgotten about. Alan Bradley had called earlier.

He was en route.

By now, she thought as she glanced at her watch- it was a birthday gift from Mackenzie's dad, and it was kinda stylish, gold and purple and blue swirls with white Roman numerals- he was only five minutes away. He was only-

"Hello, Mrs. Kromko."

He was here.

"I'm dead," Kiajo whimpered, her head in her hands as she sat on her bed. "I am so dead. I am going to die and he's-"

"Kaijo?"

She froze as her mother called for her. Reluctantly, she left her room and came down the stairs, hoping that swallowing would keep the butterflies down as they threatened to fly up and out of her throat. Her heart pounded as she stepped so she was only a foot away from Alan Bradley. He looked… unreadable. His expression was just there; nothing was given away at all. Blue eyes steeled, glasses perfectly straight, suit and tie impeccable, overcoat in her mother's hands as she took it from him…

"Hello, Kaijo," he started, a small grin appearing, but only momentarily. "I'd like to speak with her in private." At a look from Kaijo's father that was both questioning and threatening, Alan elaborated. "You're not in trouble. I just have something I'd like to discuss with you…"

Kaijo relaxed slightly and nodded as her mother said, "That's fine. We'll be in the kitchen. Mr. Bradley, can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you." Matt and Claire left the room at that, Matt saying something about needing more coffee.

Alan sighed and crossed his arms as soon as they'd rounded the corner to the kitchen; he was not thrilled that there was no door between the kitchen and living room. Kaijo watched him for a second, then asked quietly, "Would you like to sit down, sir?"

Sir? Polite kid… "No need for 'sir'," Alan said, sitting down on the couch. Kaijo took the rocking chair to his left where her mother had been sitting, moving a cooking magazine from the seat. "Now… I know you got in." he started off quietly, hoping no one would overhear them.

Kaijo rocked the chair back and forth slowly, looking a little frightened. She looked right at him, her eyes never leaving his.

Alan could feel the nervousness rolling off the girl in waves. "You made it on the Grid."

That earned a response. "I-I really didn't mean to," she admitted, her voice quieter than his. "I'm sor-"

"It's okay." Alan lifted his hands to show he wasn't mad; this kid was so timid… "You haven't told anyone yet, have you?"

She shook her head.

"Good. Please don't mention it to anyone."

Kaijo nodded. "I won't… um… how long was I gone?"

Alan shrugged. "Judging from the security video you got in when the computer exploded. The transport was an overload, and frankly it's a miracle it sustained getting you back. In all, you were gone about ten minutes."

Her expression clouded. "It seemed like a lot longer."

"Time difference," Alan supplied, watching as she nodded again, still looking scared. He sighed. "Look, I'm not mad at you for getting in. It's just not something the world needs to know about, at least not now."

Kaijo bit her lip. "I understand si- Mr. Bradley."

He grinned at her correction. "'Alan' is fine."

She smiled back shyly and kept rocking the chair; Alan could tell she'd have some good stories from the Grid. He'd have to ask her some other time. But first… "I have to be leaving. There's a board meeting tonight…" he smirked, "the all powerful release of OS 12."

"With all due respect, you don't sound all that thrilled," Kaijo commented, a little hesitation tainting her voice.

Alan laughed, making her relax more. This kid was entirely too tense. "Sadly, I'm not…" he trailed off as Kaijo fiddled with the bracelets on her wrists. It was like she was adjusting them to hide someth- he immediately looked up like he'd noticed nothing, nothing at all.

Kaijo hadn't seen this at all; she was too focused on looking at the floor, still entirely too nervous. She looked up and stood as he did. "Oh! I almost forgot…" Alan fished something out of his pocket. An off white envelope with Kaijo's name in calligraphy print. "This is for you."

She took the envelope and said a quiet "thank you", then looked over the envelope. "Mom, dad," she called, stepped partially into the kitchen, holding the envelope like it would shatter into millions of pieces if she dropped it.

Matt and Claire reappeared, her father drinking what either his third or fourth cup of coffee that day. "I have to be going," Alan announced, shaking hands with the mother first, and then the father. "Nice kid you have there. You're lucky."

Both parents nodded, and Kaijo was shocked when her mother said, "Yes we are."

Alan took his coat, shook Kaijo's hand, and left quickly. Kaijo stared at the envelope as she sat down, slowly opening it. She pulled out a red and gold card. Slowly opening it, her parents watched as her eyes widened. "What is it?" her father asked, moving to grab the TV remote.

"An invitation to… woah." Kaijo blinked once, twice, then cleared her throat. "It's an invitation to ENCOM's Christmas party. And I can take two people," she said, noticing where, in black pen, Alan had changed the "plus one" to "plus two", then signed his name under it.

But she was fairly sure she wasn't going to go. And who was she going to take? Judging from the "plus two", she was sure it would have to be her parents, or at least one of them…

Kaijo just stared at the card for another minute, then tucked the letter back inside the envelope. She'd think about it later.

Right now, though…

the Grid was apparently a big secret.

And she was pretty sure no one was ever going to find out from her. Who was going to believe it?

* * *

Three days had passed.

OS 12 was released.

And Kaijo had gotten a call from Alan Bradley.

She stared at her cell phone, wondering how on earth Mr. Bradley had gotten her number; the call had ended four minutes ago, and she was still reeling.

That morning, she hadn't been too certain of what was going on with the "Flynn Lives" message popping up on every news station. But after Alan's call, she knew…

The Grid was… was gone. It was a shell now, according to Alan's theory.

Gone.

Kaijo couldn't believe it. And it was just her stinking luck that she found the only backdoor and managed to destroy it. Alan had told her not to apologize, that it wasn't her fault. But she couldn't believe that.

The Renegade was gone.

Tron was gone.

"Paige is gone," she whispered, biting her chapped bottom lip as the lump in her throat grew. She didn't even know if Paige had survived the fight. She didn't know who'd won the revolution.

As she looked up, the ENCOM invitation taunted her as it rested on her nightstand. Kaijo glared at it for a minute, then lost all angry bravado instantly, staring at the carpet.

The Grid was no more.

And she was blaming herself.

Kaijo stood up, trying to think of something to get her mind off the topic, and instantly, a stabbing pain shot through her head. Her parents had told her about the test results, and she'd gone for another test just that morning; her mom was making her favorite, Chinese. Sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and fruit salad. True, the latter wasn't Chinese, but she loved fruit salad. Kaijo dropped to her knees, cradling her head in her hands. The pain was getting worse. She hadn't thrown up yet, but with how bad her head ached now, she didn't feel far from it.

Slowly standing up and finding her way back to her bed, Kaijo laid down, her head throbbing mercilessly. She was sure it wasn't relenting anytime soon.

So now it was time to wait it out…

Kaijo sighed and closed her eyes, praying the pain would leave. "It's gonna be a long day."

* * *

_-not the answers everyone was looking for, huh? sorry for any typos :( i didn't get much time to proof this because i gotta get more Christmas shopping done today.  
_

_thanks again for the reviews! :)_


	21. Chapter 21

"I am not going!"

"Yes you are!"

"Am NOT! Mack, we've been over this!" Kaijo sighed in exasperation as she stood by her friend in the lunch line at school. A week had passed, and Mackenzie was determined to get Kaijo to go to the ENCOM Christmas Party. But by the look on Kaijo's face, she wasn't succeeding. "It's stupid, okay? The only person I know there is Alan, the people are stuck up snobs, and-"

Mack held up a hand. "Whoa there. ENCOM just did a sweep of their board, and most of those snobs are gone."

"…well, they could be new angry snobs," Kaijo retorted weakly. "I don't think it's a good idea. Look what happened the last time I was at ENCOM."

Mackenzie frowned. "How many people are allowed to come with you?"

"Two… why?" Kaijo threw up her hands. "You know what? No, just drop it. It's not worth going to, let alone wasting our breath over."

"It was a nice gesture."

Kaijo's shoulders slumped; what wasn't Mack getting?! They moved up closer to the counter, grilled cheese and tomato soup in view. "I don't know…"

"I'll go with you. We can hang out and be losers together."

Kaijo didn't hold back on her sarcasm. "That totally boosted my confidence levels, dude." She bit her lip as Mackenzie took her tray from the lunch lady. "I'll think about it," she finally said as she punched in her lunch number, taking her tray and following Mackenzie to a table without hardened chocolate milk or some other unidentifiable substance dried across its top. "I… I just don't know if it's really going to be-"

"Not sucky?" Mack filled in as her friend struggled for the right word, popping the lid off her bottle of cranberry juice from home.

Kaijo nodded and stared at her tray bleakly. "At least it's not martian-gut hamburgers."

Mackenzie laughed; Kaijo grinned as her friend snorted softly, immediately blushing. "Really, Kai? At least your brain's mostly in tact…" She stirred her tomato soup while watching her friend fiddle with a packet of whole wheat crackers, the school's newest atrocity; Mack surrendered her pack to her friend, allergic to whole wheat. "Still don't remember?"

"Nope," Kaijo mumbled, her eyes dull. "And I have more tests next week. They think my memory will come back eventually. The doctor said it's nothing major, and that it won't affect my life. But… it's so weird having this void of nothing for two days."

Both girls quickly and quietly bowed their heads for a quick prayer, eyes closed, then opened them. Mackenzie frowned as Kaijo didn't make a move for her food. "You okay?"

Kaijo nodded at her friend's concerned question. "Just another headache. I'll be fine."

"How are your parents?"

"Freaking me out! For years I've been pushed aside, and suddenly they're concerned! I don't understand it…" Kaijo took a bite of her grilled cheese sandwich, feeling her stomach churn in protest already; she hadn't even swallowed. "And Ryder and Amanda barely said two words to me during their visit."

Mackenzie looked up sympathetically. "That stinks."

"Actually, now that I think about it," Kaijo continued like she hadn't heard, "they said two words between the two of them."

"What words?"

"'Good-bye'."

Mackenzie shook her head. "Sooo glad I'm an only child."

Kaijo looked down at her tray, her voice heavy. "I wish I was one."

Mack caught the despair creeping back into her best friend's eyes and quickly steered the subject to a far away place. "So, you hear about that fight on Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah. I can't believe people are so greedy that they just have to shop on Thanksgiving. And the whole thing was over a pair of headphones, too!"

"Peoples' greed and businesses' greed," Mackenzie tisked sadly. "A bad combination."

"I know, right? And these employees who have to work Thanksgiving- away from their families! Jerks…" She sighed. "I ran into one of them."

Mack froze. "'Ran into?'"

Kaijo nodded slowly, her eyes wide. "Literally. Bumped into her-" she motioned with her hands, one punching the other's palm, "in the bathroom on the way in."

"Which one?"

"Does it matter?" Mackenzie dropped the question at her friend's desperate look on her face. "She said… some things I don't care to repeat… and left. I… I'm scared to run into any of them now. What if they lock me in another room, Mack? I don't want another hassle."

Mack shrugged. "Just forget about them. They're-"

"Standing right behind you?"

* * *

_-thanks, Krisdaughter of Athena, Lianne Yoffa, and three different Guests for reviewing! :)_


	22. Chapter 22

Kaijo took a deep breath and turned around slowly, her face calmer than Mack had even seen. That was completely a front, though, as Mackenzie's fists clenched under the table and her eyes narrowed dangerously at the girls. She was sure Kaijo was terrified internally.

All three were a little taller than Mackenzie and Kaijo, two thin with painted-on clothes and one a little bigger in build with her clothes not much better in size. All had different shades of brown hair, and all had eyes gleaming with anger and something else entirely that shook Kaijo to the core. The one smirked, arms crossed. "Kaijo, we just came over to check up on you. I heard you got a concussion. Maybe it knocked some sense into that idiot brain of yours."

Kaijo remained silently and surprisingly stoic as another insult was hurled, this one from the biggest girl who said, "Wasn't it embarrassing to cause ENCOM all that trouble? They had to break a door down to save your worthless li-"

"They only broke the door down because of your stupidity!" Mack snapped back, still sitting. Kaijo glanced at her friend and noticed she was in what she dubbed as the "Angry Hulk Form"; fists clenched, eyes narrowed, jaw tight, and clipped tone.

Yep, Mack was mad.

"So you need your pathetic friend as a bodyguard…"

Kaijo didn't move. Didn't blink, didn't flinch. Didn't speak.

"SAY SOMETHING ALREADY, YOU FREAK!" the girl screamed in Kaijo's ear, kneeling down at her level.

The other two snickered, no one except Mackenzie noticing a student or two nearby booking towards the hall monitors on the opposite end of the cafeteria. Kaijo refused to say anything.

The next statement was filled with vulgar language, and Kaijo still didn't flinch back. Mack's glare increased though.

"I know what she's doing!" the one girl exclaimed, cutting her friend off. "It's that 'turn the other cheek' crap."

Kaijo just blinked, not responding as the girl continued slamming her. "Hah, that God of yours is really watching over you, huh? He's doing his job so well."

Mack saw Kaijo's lips slowly tighten into a thin line at that.

"You're just a little freak. A clumsy, stupid freak," the girl spat, leaning down by Kaijo's face. "That's all you are, and all you'll ever be." All three antagonists laughed at that.

Kaijo really wanted to comment on the fact that the girl's breath smelled like her lunch and breakfast… from yesterday, but held back. Instead, she stood up and crossed her arms, her expression not changing. Her voice was calm and even as she said, "You don't define who I am. You don't know who I am. You don't even know what I am. I'm awkward. I'm clumsy. I'm not real smart. I'm a failure, too. But over all that, I am God's. Nothing you ever say or do to me will ever change that."

The one girl snorted. "Cling to your faith all you want, you little-"

"Is there a problem over here?"

There stood one of the hall monitors… and the principal.

Kaijo shook her head. "No problem here, ma'am," she replied, addressing the principal.

The principal took notice of the three girls, the same three who were in trouble for their antics at ENCOM. "You three, my office. NOW."

As they sullenly stomped off, the one girl turned around and… made gesture Kaijo just rolled her eyes at. She sat down and Mack high-fived her. "Dude, that was great! How…?! You were so calm!"

Kaijo smiled weakly. "I… I don't know. It just…" She stopped talking and started breathing heavily.

Mack noticed instantly and jumped to her side. "Are you alright?"

Kaijo didn't answer for a moment. "I…" Kaijo swallowed, looking pale. "I think I'm gonna be sick," she whispered hurriedly, then jumped up and ran to the restrooms, Mackenzie right behind her as the hall monitor with the passbook frowned and followed them. He stopped outside the entrance to the bathrooms by the cafeteria at the sound of someone throwing up. He stood outside, waiting to know if he needed to get a nurse. Bothering them about rushing past without getting a pass wasn't important anymore.

* * *

_-next up: ENCOM's Christmas Party._

_sorry for any typos :(_

_i survived our church's Christmas service! oh man... the practice's were so chaotic i was amazed we got through it!_

_thanks, WhiteTigerMarsya, Krisdaughter of Athena, and Pirateweasel for reviewin_g :)


	23. Chapter 23

"Whose idea was this?!"

Kaijo knew ENCOM was a billion dollar company; her parents owned a few shares of their stock, which was rapidly increasing now under new authority… what had brought that about, anyways?

But this Christmas party was huge.

Turns out the company was having it in one of their conference rooms inside ENCOM. The room was huge and the white walls were decked in red and green and gold, several Christmas trees scattered about the room, garlands strings wider than Kaijo's head in width, and the red and green tablecloths on the tables were accented with poinsettias.

Kaijo looked at Mack and smirked. " If I recall correctly, it was yours."

Mack rolled her eyes. "It was my idea to plop a thing of caviar in front of us?"

"Oh, that…" Kaijo cringed; she just couldn't quite bring herself to eat that. "Um… not sure."

The girls had arrived with Kaijo's father in tow. He insisted on going to make sure the girls were safe, and so far, they were fine.

Mack ran her hands over her dress. Aqua blue faded into purple towards the bottom which flowed over her feet. Her hair was down in curls, with a silver holly clip in her hair.

Kaijo's dress was entirely purple and reached her feet as well. A silver band passed around her waist, and her hair was down as well. It was a sleeveless dress, but she had a white and silver short sleeved sweater over it. Everyone was wearing a different color; some were in traditional Christmas colors, but not everyone. Kaijo's dad wore a suit- which Kaijo was never aware he owed- with a red tie.

Mackenzie glanced around, talking with Kaijo, drinking soda instead of whatever alcohol half the place had (the majority had water- Mack gave them that much) and noticed a woman in a black dress with no color whatsoever, glare in their direction and start whispering to one of her friends and pointing. Mack's eyes narrowed as they looked their way, and both turned away quickly at her pernicious glare, whispering again. She didn't want Kaijo feeling down about anything, not with her health in jeopardy, so she figured that distracting her from it was her best option. So-

"They don't like me."

Mack jumped at little at Kaijo's mumbled observation. "What?"

"You heard me," she said quietly, not sounding upset at all. "It's the same wherever I go. Amanda and Ryder, school, stores- nothing changes."

"If it helps," Mack commented, shrugging, "they don't like me much either."

Kaijo bit her lip and glanced around, then stared in the direction of the DJ in the far corner, playing some classical song at the moment. "I have an idea…"

"What is it?"

"You might actually be proud of me this time," Kaijo said mysteriously as she stood up, grabbing her small silver purse off the table with her as she walked across the room, Mackenzie's eyes widening as she tapped the DJ on the shoulder and pulled out her iPod.

Mack grinned. Whatever Kaijo was up to, she was gonna like. Not that she had thing one against classical music, but it wasn't a Christmas song- and it was Christmastime! She watched as the DJ nodded and smiled, refusing to take any money from Kaijo, as people had been slipping him money to play songs all night. Kaijo walked back to the table and sat down, seemingly unnoticed by everyone else. Her father had noticed, though, and was wondering what his fifteen year old was up to.

As soon as the song faded to a stop, another song started playing, one with first song that night with words.

**"I heard the bells on Christmas day, their old familiar carols play. And mild and sweet their songs repeat of peace on earth, good will to men…"**

Mack's grin grew. "Nice, Kai! Finally, an actual Christmas song."

Kaijo just blushed and looked at her feet under the table. She missed the conversations slowly stopping all around the room as the song started picking up.

**"And the bells are ringing (Peace on Earth). Like a choir they're singing (Peace on Earth). In my heart I hear them. Peace on earth, good will to men…"**

Both girls knew this song inside and out, and as Mack looked around, peoples' heads started turning at the next verse's lyrics.

**"And in despair I bowed my head. 'There is no peace on earth,' I said. For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men…"**

The room was almost dead silent, but Kaijo was too busy looking down to notice. She knew half the people here already hated her and Mackenzie, and she figured she might as well leave them with something memorable. She only looked up when Mack tapped her shoulder, her grey eyes wide at a response that she hadn't quite been expecting.

**"…Then rang the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead, nor doth He sleep (Peace on Earth, peace on Earth). The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men…"**

With that, the room was entirely listening. Kaijo had expected a lot of people to scoff at the song, not actually listen.

**"Then ringing, singing on its way, the world revolved from night to day. A voice, a chime, a chant sublime of peace on earth, good will to men. And the bells they're ringing (Peace on Earth). Like a choir they're singing (Peace on Earth). And with our hearts we'll hear them. Peace on earth, good will to men…"**

Kaijo's dad, who'd been talking to someone on ENCOM's board of directors- was there name Edward or something like that?- was listening. Was this what his daughter had asked to be played?

**"Do you hear the bells they're ringing? (Peace on Earth) The life, the angels singing (Peace on Earth). Open up your heart and hear them (Peace on Earth). Peace on earth, good will to men…"**

Kaijo grinned at Mack. "That was not at all what I thought was gonna happen."

"Well," Mackenzie whispered back, "I don't think they'll be forgetting us anytime soon."

"Nice song choice."

Both girls jumped and looked up, right at Alan Bradley. Dark suit, green tie, and a smile one his face. "Hope you two are enjoying yourselves," he said, then headed in the direction of Kaijo's father as the song came to a close.

**"Peace on earth. Peace on earth. Peace on earth, Good will to men."**

* * *

_-two more chapters to go! wow..._

_sorry for any typos- i have a lot i have to do to help get ready for Christmas, and i'm ready to just pass out. :(_

_lyrics from Casting Crowns "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"_


	24. Chapter 24

Christmas

It was finally Christmas.

And… much like Thanksgiving, Kaijo was up early, and not because a jolly man in a red and white suit was coming down their house's imaginary chimney.

She had another headache.

But instead of getting out of bed and finding the strongest pain killers in the house, Kaijo just laid in bed, in her black sweatpants and a worn shirt with a Batman insignia across the front. Her eyes were closed as her head throbbed.

Kaijo felt too sick to get up. She had grabbed something else other than Tylenol, and it was helping a little.

Her iPod.

The music was a distraction. And a good one at that. But whenever a sharp pain pierced her temples, Kaijo cringed and felt sick; she was scared to get up and on her feet, in case she fell down the stairs or threw up or woke up someone. With Ryder and Amanda home…

getting up wasn't an option.

**"Build a snowman with the wind at his back. Got the day planned, and presents to wrap. Fight the wind chill with all of my friends, 'cause it's Christmas time again…"**

The only sign Kaijo was awake was her foot tapping every once in a while with the beat of the Christmas music.

**"Going downtown and spreading good cheer. Handing gloves out when we volunteer for the children, greeting from ear to ear, singing 'Christmas time is here'…"**

Another lightning bolt shot through her head, this time partly behind her eye, and Kaijo arched off the bed, whimpering. That was the worse one yet.

**"And everybody's like 'ha ha ha, ho ho ho'. Four-wheel driving through the snow. Fighting the cold with some hot cocoa. Grabbing grandma- to the mall we go! And there's a man outside with a bucket and a bell; wants to go home with a story to tell. And he's reminding us that his Christmas got nothing to do with living for himself…"**

Panting, Kaijo slowly opened her eyes. She felt like she had on the Grid, right before she wound up back in the real world. Well, not entirely like that; it was a mild version of that pain, but it was eerily similar, and it wasn't a good feeling to have.

**"It's the light of Christmas shining through. Our eyes, our smiles; you know it could shine on through, all the good that we do for the people that don't have it so good…"**

Kaijo pulled out one purple headphone and sighed, wincing at the effort. She really, truly, desperately needed to get her hands on Tylenol, Advil, anything downstairs in the vitamin drawer in the kitchen!

But… she couldn't even get up.

**"Light me up and I'll show you the way. Every year- can't wait for Christmas day. Light me up- I've finally figured out what Christmas is all about…"**

Kaijo jumped at the sound of someone knocking on her door. She watched as she mom peeked around the door, then gasped at her daughter's pale face. "Kaijo, are you okay?"

**"Here's a gift card for your new winter coat, 'cause the backyard is covered with sn-"**

Kaijo shut off the iPod, smiled, and attempted to nod as her mom stood by her bed, only to have a grimace take the smile's place. "Ya know something'?" she said softly, her words slightly slurred as another wave of pain swept over her. "I'm kinda getting' sick of this…"

Her mom quickly grabbed some Tylenol and got them to her, helping her sit up as she swallowed the pills with a few sips of water from an ice cold bottle. She sighed. "Kaijo, why didn't you get any medicine?"

"Uh…" she slowly stood up, the room tipping to the side slightly.

"Kaijo, why?" Her mother's tone was harder this time, and Kaijo looked away, knowing her mom was aware that when the headache began she could've easily gotten to the medicine downstairs.

"I…" Kaijo sighed and looked everywhere except at her mother.

Claire glared. "Why? I want an answer, young l-"

"What do you want me to say?!" Kaijo cut her mother off in exasperation, her whispering only a tad louder than her mom's, "that I didn't want to wake anyone up if I fell or broke something? That I didn't want to risk getting sick and waking up my brother and sister who think I'm the biggest bother in the world?! That I'm just an annoyance to everyo-" she stopped talking, realizing far too late that she'd cut off her mom, something her mom hated. Kaijo quickly tried to backtrack, apologizing profusely.

Her mother sighed and held up a hand. Kaijo was immediately quiet, her fifth "I'm sorry" dying halfway through. "Kaijo… I'm not mad at you. But whatever gave you the idea that waiting for the pain to get this bad was a good plan?"

Kaijo shook her head. "Anything that doesn't annoy Ryder and Amanda seems like a good plan, mom," she mumbled, her eyes clouding over as the room tipped sharply. She sat down on her bed and stared at her hands as they lay clasped in her lap.

Claire Kromko frowned at that, unsure of what to say to try and make her youngest feel better. Instead she sat beside her and slowly wrapped her arms around her daughter in a hug, unaware that the twins were watching from the doorway.

* * *

**"Here's a gift card for your new winter coat, 'cause the backyard is covered with snow, and the sleigh rides, they don't cost a cent. Yeah, it's Christmas time again…"**

Breakfast was over.

Presents were being sorted around the base of the tree.

And Kaijo had her iPod on again.

**"Light me up and I'll show you the way. Every year- can't wait for Christmas day. Light me up- I've finally figured out what Christmas is all about…"**

The headache was still there, but starting to ebb away. Finally. Amanda and Ryder had glanced her way a few times during breakfast, which was a new development. They had abandoned bacon, blueberry pancakes, and hash browns, letting them go cold on the plate, to look up at her.

What was that about?

**"Do you hear the sound? A thousand angels are singing out. To God Almighty we're bowing down, and that's what Christmas is all about…"**

Kaijo watched as her mom walked in from washing the dishes, wiping her hands dry to make sure to maple syrup hadn't survived getting slathered in dish liquid and decided to stick to her hands. "Well, everyone ready for the presents?"

Amanda and Ryder were both loud about their enthusiasm, and Kaijo just nodded, smiling. She was still upset over cutting her mother off earlier. She hadn't meant to; but keeping the fact that she felt so worthless inside so long just wasn't working under her mother's pressure. Her mom seemed to have forgotten the whole episode entirely… and in all honesty, she wanted her daughter to do the same. It wasn't anything to get upset over.

**"Do you hear the sound? A thousand angels are singing out. To God Almighty we're bowing down, and that's what Christmas is all about…"**

Kaijo looked at the tree. White and blue lights, blue and silver garland, and blue and purple ornaments with little icicles dangling from selective branches. It was a beautiful tree… and a fake one. Another beautiful thing about it- fake tree meant no pine needles scattered about the floor.

**"Light me up and I'll show you the way. Every year- can't wait for Christmas day. Light me up- I've finally figured out what Christmas is all about…"**

Kaijo was surprised to realize she hadn't really wondered about what she was getting for Christmas. Last year, it was a mall gift card from her parents (which she'd only spent at Mack's urging seven or so months later), and some cash in a corny Christmas card from her siblings. In all, it added up to one hundred ten dollars and seventy-six cents (yes, her brother and sister put change in the card, and yes, she counted it).

But this year…

**"It's the light of Christmas shining through. Our eyes our smiles; you know it could shine on through, all the good that we do for the people that don't have it so goo-"**

Kaijo turned off her iPod and sat on the floor across from her brother and sister. She reached into her green hoodie and pulled out four small boxes, each decked out with either angels or wise men or music notes or manger scenes, from her pockets. She then slipped the hoodie off, revealing a red t-shirt with a Christmas tree made entirely of stars, with a massive star at the top, that read "Jesus is the Joy of Christmas". She straightened the boxes out in front of her in a line, then looked up at her family as her dad pushed a pile of presents her way, at least fourteen or fifteen of them in various sizes. Her eyes widened. Last year it was two cards…

this was a lot to take in.

Her brother and sister sat by their piles, both having bigger presents, and a few less than her. Their parents each sat down on the floor as well, her father joking, "I'm a little too old for this." They had a pile in front of them as well.

Kaijo looked around, then placed each box in front of its rightful owner. Ryder had wise men, Amanda had angels, her father had music notes, and her mother had the manger scene.

And then the unwrapping began.

They went in a circle, starting with Amanda this year, each unwrapping one present at a time. Kaijo got through three presents- an iTunes card and two pairs of new fluffy neon colored socks- and when it was her turn again, she reached for her fourth. The red wrapping paper was torn off, and Kaijo sat there, staring in shock. How-

Her father smiled. "We had to call Mackenzie and get some help. We know your other jacket was destroyed in the explosion."

Kaijo picked up the jacket, an exact replica of the one she'd lost in ENCOM. She grinned at seeing TobyMac's name in perfect condition across the back, instead of charred off. The original jacket was a gift from Mack and her father a while back for her birthday. She never thought she'd get a new one to replace it. She quickly wiped away any tears threatening to fall and whispered a " thank you" as she slipped it on.

Her parents smiled, and her brother and sister looked on in confusion. What was this about an explosion?

As they all reached their final present, Kaijo watched Amanda open her box hesitantly. Kaijo watched nervously, hoping her sister liked what was inside.

Amanda stared inside the box at first, then pulled out a necklace with her name written on a silver heart pendant. She smiled; she liked it. "Thanks, Kaijo," she said, not with much emotion, but Kaijo figured it was a success if her sister was thanking her.

Ryder was next. He shook his box at first, and Kaijo was secretly grateful his present wasn't made of glass. He opened it, his face showing his surprise at finding a fifty dollar gift card for a sporting goods store close to the college. Where had Kaijo gotten fifty dollars for this? "Thanks, sis," he said gratefully.

Her mother picked up her box, and at this point Kaijo was wondering why they'd saved her presents to them for last. She knew what she'd gotten from her brother and sister: two new sets of headphones. They were the cheap ones, but they were good enough, considering she could make them last about six months if she was lucky.

Matt watched his wife open the box and gasp as she pulled out two glass ornaments for the Christmas tree, one engraved with a manger scene, and the other shaped into an angel with blue flecks swirled into the dress, white swirled into the wings, and yellow swirled into the halo. Claire loved glass ornaments, and her wide smile told Kaijo she'd done well with her choices. She thanked her daughter as well, and then her husband opened his box, his eyes wide as he pulled out a watch. A watch that was an exact copy of the one his father owned and gave to him before he died. The watch had broke one day when they were testing a machine at work and instead of working, it fell and pinned his hand, the face of the watch cracked and the band ruined. He hadn't worn it in three months, and hadn't attempted to replace it.

Immediately, Matt had the watch on his wrist, fighting back any tears that were sure to come. Instead of thanking his daughter, he got up and knelt by her, giving her a hug. He didn't know there were any watches left like that one…

After her father had recovered, he sat by his daughter and pushed her last few gifts towards her. One wasn't wrapped like the rest… but she decided to wait on that one, opening up a pair of boot slippers, a little pink and purple stuffed dolphin to add to her stuffed animal collection on her bookcase, and…

Kaijo wasn't sure about opening the last present. She twirled the gift in her hands, nothing shaking or crashing around inside. She took a deep breath and decided to open it.

* * *

_-any guesses as to who the last gift is from? and any guesses what's inside it?_

_the last chapter gets posted tomorrow! have an awesome Christmas Eve, guys! :)_

_sorry for any mistakes :(_

_thanks, Lianne Yoffa, Guest, Pirateweasel, and Krisdaughter of Athena for reviewing! :)_


	25. Epilogue

Kaijo unwrapped the blue and white snowflake wrapping paper, revealing a white box with "Fragile!" scrawled in red on every side at least once. She turned the box in her hands until she found a side without tape and pulled the flap up. She slowly slid out a piece of styrofoam with a note attached. She pulled it off and read it once, twice, then pulled the tape off that joined the two pieces of styrofoam as one and pulled off the smaller piece that served as a sort of lid.

And her grey eyes went wide.

Amanda picked up the piece of styrofoam, reading the note as her sister slowly traced her fingertips around the edge of whatever was in the styrofoam box. She bit her lip as she read:

_**Kaijo-**_

_**First off, Merry Christmas! I hope you and your friend, and your father, enjoyed yourselves at the party.**_

_**You're probably busy enjoying your Christmas break, so I'll keep this brief. Sam and I managed to trace back through the system some of the project. We're slowly rebuilding, and we found some things you might be interested in. Consider it a Christmas present from Sam and me.**_

_**Happy Holidays, Kaijo.**_

_**-Alan Bradley**_

Amanda looked up just in time to see Kaijo lift up a translucent rectangle with a picture on it; four programs, all huddled in the shot.

And Kaijo recognized one as the Renegade.

Before Amanda could see past the fact that three people (slightly odd looking people) in the picture were male and one female, Kaijo had set it on the floor, and was picking up a circular object that was black with blue lights. She did… something to it, and it ignited. Everyone jumped, and Kaijo just deactivated it, then pulled up something, showing various menus and videos. "Whoa…" she was in complete awe. "The disc…" she looked at the picture and touched the face of the figure in the middle. "It was his…"

Her father cleared his throat. "What is all this?"

Kaijo smiled. "A gift from Mr. Bradley."

"Bradley? Alan Bradley?" Amanda asked, in shock.

Kaijo nodded, pulling another picture from the styrofoam, this one of two girls and a guy, all in black and green, one holding a big box of some sort with white key pads.

"ENCOM's Alan Bradley?"

Kaijo nodded again, her smile growing as she gently placed everything back in the box, layering it with bubble wrap. "Yeah, why?"

Ryder and Amanda just sat there, completely confused, as their parents smiled at their youngest, helping her clean up the wrapping paper from all the gifts. She was cradling the thing she dubbed a "disc" in her hands, whispering "thank you" several times before grinning like an idiot. Whatever was in that box…

everyone in the family knew it was something between her and Alan Bradley.

And they were willing to leave it at that.

Well… almost entirely.

* * *

That night, Amanda heard something as she walked by her sister's door, drying her hair from the shower. At first she was sure it was just her imagination-

until she heard it again.

She quickly stooped by Kaijo's door, listening as the disc hummed; it was active. Amanda wondered what that thing was, and if it was dangerous. And how did Kaijo know exactly how to turn it on?

As she listened, she heard someone talking, and they definitely weren't Kaijo.

"How did you become the Renegade?"

Amanda frowned as the voice continued. "It's okay, Beck. I know."

A new voice stammered, "H-how long have you known?"

What in the world was that?! Who… what… how? Amanda decided to get some answers and threw the door open.

Kaijo just sat there, holding the disc- the not activated disc. She looked up at her sister, one headphone in, the other dangling over her pajamas. She looked a little pale. "Hey, Amanda."

"Hey…" Amanda frowned. Was she hearing things? No, she couldn't be… right? "Did you have a DVD playing or something?"

Kaijo shook her head. "No, no DVD's. Sorry."

Amanda just nodded, now positive she'd had too many cookies and pieces of pie… her mother was an outstanding cook; why hold back on good food? "Okay… good night."

The awkward good night hung in the air a moment before Kaijo smiled and said, "Good night, Amanda. Merry Christmas."

Amanda shut the door and shook her head. She could've sworn she heard something, someone talking-

"Go, go, go! You're almost there!"

"It's hard outrunning the cops! Here, you do better!"

"Considering I didn't just take out four telephone poles, I think I will!"

Amanda rolled her eyes. "I was stupid…" Her father and brother were downstairs playing a video game that they always used to before her and Ryder moved out. It was some racing game, and her father was not the best at it. But they enjoyed themselves all the same-

"Look! You got promoted to 'Renegade' status!"

Amanda sighed. So it was only the two goofs downstairs…

She turned and walked into her old room, shutting the door and abandoning any thoughts about her little sister's strange gift from Alan Bradley. It was time for a good night's sleep.

* * *

Kaijo fell back against the pillows on her bed, breathing a resounding sigh of relief. "That was close… but hey, she did say DVD." She smiled at the disc, and laid it on her nightstand, next to the pictures from Alan. She smiled at the one with Paige in it; she used to look so happy…

And now she was gone.

Kaijo looked up at the ceiling, her smile still there. "Thanks," she whispered. "I really needed the whole… other world experience. I miss Paige though… she was a good friend, even if it was only for a little while." She shrugged. "I wonder if Alan knows how much this meant to me…"

What she didn't know was she gave Paige a gift of her own. A bit early for Christmas, but still…

Kaijo helped her escape, helped her see the world without blinders, showed her what it felt like to make a difference.

Kaijo slowly pulled out the one headphone and hesitated before turning her iPod off, finally letting the song finish.

**"… I've finally figured out what Christmas is all about."**

* * *

_-and... the end! sorry for any typos (as always), and thanks so much, guys, for all the reviews! :)_

_lyrics (from the last chapter, and that one tiny line of lyrics at the end) from Owl City and TobyMac "Light of Christmas" :) _

_i'll be back in March with a new Tron story, so be ready!_

_Merry Christmas, everyone! :) have an amazing day, and enjoy the holidays, awesome peoples! :) God bless! :)_


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